Temporal Flux
by kirikarin
Summary: The sixth year has begun in Hogwarts with the arrival of a new student who seems too familiar to the others just as Ron and Hermione experience difficulties in dealing with each other. What can this strangely familiar new student do? PostOotP.
1. A Familiar Stranger

Temporal Flux

Chapter One: A Familiar Stranger

Taking a deep breath, a young man of sixteen years old was preparing to go to Platform 9 ¾ with his false documents in hand. He was gazing at himself in front of the mirror, wondering if he was going to be able to get away with it. His brown eyes were too much like hers. His hair was the exact same shade as hers, but with a different consistence. Clearing his throat, he said with a well-rehearsed American accent, "Good morning. Where might I find Platform 9 ¾?" He shook his head, cleared his throat, and repeated his words again with some modification, "Morning. Where's Platform 9 ¾?" He wished he didn't have to use the accent at all because it sounded dreadful. He had little choice. He was told on more than one occasion that his voice sounded just like his father's.

"Here's goes nothing," he muttered.

"That's the spirit, dear," the mirror told him sarcastically. "I've heard Americans talk and you're not going to get away with it."

"Shut it," he ordered the mirror with annoyance. He pulled at a chain around his neck and stuffed the pendant under his shirt.

He picked up the handle of his trunk. It had wheels to make it easy to transport, giving him more of a Muggle born appearance. With some trouble, he got his trunk to the bottom of the staircase to the pub area of the Leaky Cauldron. He paid for his room and went off to find a Floo Network to get to the station.

"I wonder if Harry's all right," said Hermione worriedly to her red-haired companions. "He hasn't written us all summer."

Ron sighed as he adjusted his Prefect pin, which was upside down. It flipped back over. He took it off all together and stuffed it into his pocket. "You can't blame him if he didn't want to write to us. I wish we knew something. If I knew anything, I'd tell him this time. I even wrote that I'd tell him anything I knew over the summer, but he never wrote back."

"Professor Dumbledore said that he was fine," said Ginny. "I mean that he was staying at his aunt's house. Harry's blaming himself for what happened to Sirius."

Hermione bit her lip as she saw someone unfamiliar coming along, pulling a trunk on wheels. He looked about their age. He was tall just as tall as Ron with a similar body structure. He looked a little confused. "Excuse me, are you all right?" she asked.

The boy blinked at her with surprise. He opened his mouth and he attempted to say something, but couldn't. He seemed transfixed on her face. "What's the matter, mate? You look lost," said Ron just behind Hermione.

The boy's head whipped to look at Ron and he gulped. "Um—yes—I—mean I think I'm lost," he stammered nervously. "I'm looking for the train to my school." He saw the Prefect pin on Hermione's collar.

"You're American, aren't you?" asked Hermione. "How old are you?"

"I'm sixteen," replied the boy. "And yes, I'm American. I'm on a special exchange program with a school in England. By any chance, would you be going to that school?" Most of this was just an act; he knew perfectly well who the people he was speaking with. His skin was tingling from the air.

"I didn't know that there was an exchange program," said Ron thoughtfully. "What's your name?"

"Jared Blake," replied the boy. "It's nice to meet you. And you are?"

"Ron Weasley. This is Hermione Granger, and my sister Ginny," answered Ron, introducing the two girls. "I guess we'll help you."

"Thanks," said Jared with some relief as he followed them, feeling his excitement build. He would have never gotten away with that before. He had to remind himself that they didn't know him. At least not yet.

"The Platform is between Platforms nine and ten. All you need to do is to go through the divider. Run a little first if you're not sure," instructed Hermione. "And you should be fine. We have to go back to our parents. Good luck." She gave him a smile as all three of them walked off. Jared smiled back at her.

Ginny glanced back at a little as her brother and Hermione continued walking. There was something strangely familiar with that boy. She shook her head as she turned and noticed they were way ahead of her. "Hey, wait for me!" she exclaimed.

Jared continued onward until he was through the divider. He knew where it was the whole time, but his conversation with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny gave him a chance to assess the situation. It was disconcerting seeing them as peers rather than authority figures. He had one pressing question in his mind: where was Harry Potter?

He got his answer as soon as he went through the divider. Harry was by himself. Apparently, he had arrived early. Jared was a little taken because Harry wasn't like himself. Harry was loading his trunk without any assistance and looked like he was unwilling to speak with anyone. Jared remembered that it wasn't a good time for Harry. Sighing, Jared walked up to him because it was the section to load his trunk in. "Excuse me," said Jared quietly. Harry moved out of his way and allowed him to put his trunk in place. He was just about to leave when he heard Harry's voice. "I've never seen you before. You look too old to be a first year."

"I'm not. I'm an exchange student from America. My name is Jared Blake."

"Harry Potter." Harry held his breath waiting for the usual sweep for his scar, when Jared's eyes didn't weaver, he was a little surprised. "Are you by yourself?"

"Yes, my parents are very busy. Well, I'll see you on the train." Jared walked onto get the train. He wanted to go early because there was a specific compartment that he liked. He also wanted to avoid running into other people for a while. It was a mind trip seeing Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny. He needed to settle himself for a while.

Finding his favorite compartment, Jared took a seat and was smiling with great satisfaction that it wasn't occupied. He stared out the window and watched as Ron and Hermione caught up with Harry. There is tension between the best friends as they try to catch up in a few words about Harry's summer. They got on the train as Ginny had a brief conversation with her mother. Jared could almost tell what Mrs. Weasley is saying, "Take care and don't get into any trouble. Make sure that your brother and his friends are all right. You'll write me and tell me otherwise, right?" Yes, that was exactly what she was telling her and Jared was positive of it.

He continued to stare out the window as someone knocked on the compartment. Jared turned his head in a daze. "Hullo, I was wondering if you mind me sitting here. The other compartments are filling up fast." Jared knew who it was, but he looked a bit different than what he remembered. "Sure, no problem," said Jared after realizing that Neville Longbottom wanted an answer from him.

"Thanks. I'm Neville Longbottom."

"Jared Blake. I'm the exchange student from America. It's nice to see a friendly face."

"So, you're just starting Hogwarts this year?"

"It's a year long exchange. What's that?" asked Jared, referring to the plant that Neville was carrying. In the leaves, a toad was sitting, held down by what looked like vines.

"Oh, this is my _Mimbulus mimbletonia_ and my toad, Trevor," replied Neville. "Don't get too close though, it will squirt you. It does it with strangers."

"Oh," said Jared lightly, remembering Neville's love of plants. "It's very nice. I don't even have a familiar. I was thinking of getting an owl when I got there. My parents gave me money for one, but I'm not sure what I want to get."

"Neville, there you are," said Luna Lovegood as she peered into the compartment. "Do you mind if I sit here?" She had her wand tucked into her ear as she stared at Jared. "Oh, I didn't know you were talking to someone. That was rude of me. I'm Luna Lovegood."

"Nice to meet you," said Jared. "Jared Blake. The American exchange student." He said the last part almost wryly. He was going to get tired of introducing himself after a while. Perhaps, he should have had some business cards printed up. It would have made things a lot easier, if not less annoying. "Have a seat," he offered.

Luna took the seat next to him. "You look awfully familiar though. I can't place you," she said as she gazed at him. "Maybe it's the Doppelganger theory."

"I don't think I have a twin anywhere else in the world," said Jared with a nervous laugh. He didn't like the fact that she was able to look like she could see right through him. Much to his relief, Harry showed up carrying two cages with his owl, Hedwig, and another containing Ron's owl, Pig. Ginny had a carrier with Crookshanks in it. Jared nearly laughed at the poor half-Kneazle. Crookshanks had his face pressed up against the wired door of the carrier, squashing his already squashed face even more. "Come on in," he said, very thankful for their intrusion.

"Thanks Jared. I guess you got acquainted with other people already," said Ginny cheerfully. "Does anyone mind if I let Crookshanks out? He's not very happy."

"How will you get him back inside?" asked Neville gazing at feline.

"We'll stuff him back in later," said Harry as he put the owls in the open overhead compartment. Pig was being his usual hyperactive self, twittering from bar to bar of his cage. Hedwig was turning her head away from the irritating owl and pretending like she didn't know him. Harry gently stroked her feathers and she hooted. "I'm sorry about this. We'll be there soon, Hedwig." She hooted at him softly.

Crookshanks was padding around the compartment floor. He seemed very interested in Jared, rubbing up against the boy's shins. Jared, without thinking, picked up Crookshanks who didn't even hiss at him. Jared gently rubbed the feline's ears, causing Crookshanks to purr like a motor engine. "Wow, I've never seen Hermione's cat take such a liking to someone so quickly," complimented Ginny with some amazement.

Jared looked a little startled, but his expression softened. "My mother had a cat like this one. He died when I was little," he explained. "He was my buddy when we'd go exploring the house. Where are the other two?"

"Oh, you mean Ron and Hermione? They're at the Prefect compartment. They should be coming here as soon as they're done with business," answered Ginny.

Harry had taken his place by the window, which Neville offered him without saying a word. He was gazing out the window. Luna was no longer interested in Jared, but in Harry. Jared wasn't overly concerned with Harry, knowing that it would be sorted out later. So, he continued rubbing Crookshanks' ears. He knew that his presence there would prevent the others from prying and asking Harry about how he was doing. Somehow, Jared knew that Harry would be grateful for it.

Ginny, who Jared knew was never comfortable with long silences, broke it after a few minutes, "So, how was your summer, Luna? You wrote me about going to Sweden. Did you find anything?"

"Not really," answered Luna. "It was mildly disappointing. But my father and I looked at the old evidence from before." The girls filled the silence with talk about Luna's strange creatures. Jared was grinning as he remembered the repeated warnings that his mother used to tell him when he was small. It was a wonder why his mother and Luna were friends.

"Some pretty bad things out there," murmured Jared, getting Harry's attention. "I read all about it. My parents didn't want me to come at all, but I really had no choice."

Harry stared at him for a moment, "Did you want to ask me anything?" There was a definite mark of hostility in his voice. "Come on, what did you want to ask me?"

"Harry, calm down," said Ginny. "There's no need to get angry."

"No, it's all right," said Jared. "He has every right to be angry. This is one screwed up world. Some just get hit more than others. I'm sorry if I sounded too forward. I didn't mean anything by it."

Harry's features softened at his words. He swallowed what anger he had towards him. "I'm sorry. It's just that I know that people are going to ask like they did last year."

"We'll be with you," Neville reassured him. "I mean Ron and I will be in the dorms. Ron and Hermione can give people detention for pestering you."

"I don't think Hermione would," said Jared. "Ron might, but not her."

"How do you know that? You only met them for less than five minutes," scoffed Ginny.

Jared shrugged his shoulders. He was a quick thinker and said, "Because when I met with you three, he wasn't wearing his badge. I didn't even know he was a prefect until you and Harry came in." He really wanted to say that he knew them pretty well. Intimately actually, but he couldn't if he wanted to keep his cover.

Harry had more of an appreciation of Jared at that point. "I don't think Hermione and Ron should be assigning detention on my behalf. I'm tired of people doing stuff on my behalf. I'm sick of it." The others were quiet again for nearly fifteen minutes before Neville decided to take a stab at some conversation.

Almost an hour past before Ron and Hermione showed up. "Hello. Oh, I see everyone's met Jared," greeted Hermione.

"Hermione, move, so I can get a seat," ordered Ron as he gave her a little push. He was so much bigger than her. She was only around five and half feet tall, while Ron towered over her at just over six feet tall. Jared watched with mild amusement, not knowing if he should shake his head at them or laugh out loud. "You could say excuse me," retorted Hermione. "You're just mad because Malfoy is still a prefect."

"Aren't you? He called you a 'Mudblood' during the meeting. And you just let him. Now, move," countered Ron angrily. Hermione obligingly moved out of his way and he took a seat next to Neville, while Hermione took hers next to Ginny. "Besides, there's no point in fighting Malfoy. He's just saying it to get a rise out of me. Why should I make him think he's winning by reacting? That's your problem, Ron. He'd leave us all alone much more, if you wouldn't react to every single thing he does or says."

Jared was experiencing a moment of déjà vu as he remembered getting an almost similar speech when he was younger. He fought the compulsion to recite it along with Hermione. Ron averted the would-be argument by waving his hand dismissively. He turned his attention to a more pressing matter, "So, how are you doing Harry?" Neville and Ginny seized up.

"Fine," replied Harry automatically.

Jared shifted a little as he continued to look out the window, ignoring the tension all together. He wasn't worried at all because he simply knew better. He also didn't want to interfere with what was happening. If the three of them wanted to fight, they were going to fight. "Right," said Ron with a nod.

"Are you sure, Harry?" pressed Hermione. Jared almost predicted that. She never knew when to leave well enough alone, but it was one of the things that he loved about her.

"He said he's fine, Hermione," insisted Ron. That was also a response that Jared expected. It was almost like a patterned script that Jared was used to. This was just the normal way Ron and Hermione communicated, but Jared knew better. They were more than capable of just bickering back and forth like an old married couple. Hermione looked like she wanted to say something else, but decided to leave it be. There was no doubt in Jared's mind that Ron and Hermione were going to be discussing it later on. "So, Jared, where in America are you from?"

Jared turned his head, "Huh? Oh, I'm from Los Angeles in California. All the way in the West Coast."

"This must be quite a change of climate for you," said Hermione. "I've never been to California before."

"It's pretty hot during the summer," agreed Jason. "And it doesn't snow there, you have to go elsewhere. But there are lots of different cultures in one place. You don't have to go far to get tastes of Mexico, China, and lots of other countries. So, who needs snow?" He wasn't lying. He knew a lot of different places in the world because his parents and he went on vacations to various places. They spent two weeks in California before, so Jared had experience to draw from. It was all part of his persona as an American.

"What kind of schools do they have in America?" asked Ginny, picking up on the topic.

"Well, we don't really have much in the way of boarding schools because it's very expensive for most people, so most of our schools are just during the day. At the end of the day, we go home to our families. My parents were a little worried about sending me to Hogwarts, but I convinced them that it's worth the experience. I hope to broaden my horizons, so that's why I'm here."

"Didn't your parents know about You-Know-Who coming back?" asked Neville. "We were in the Ministry of Magic just before school let out last year. Less than a year." He wasn't bragging. He was warning Jared.

"I know," replied Jared as he continued to rub Crookshanks' ears. Hermione stared at her cat who was purring like mad. He noticed that she was staring. "Oh, I'm sorry. This is your cat. You want him back?"

"No, that's all right," whispered Hermione as she glanced at Ginny who shrugged.

"I can't believe that stupid cat likes him," muttered Ron.

"He's not stupid, Ron!" exclaimed Hermione defensively.

"That cat looks like he ran into a wall, Hermione!" he retorted. "He's not a normal cat. I think he's out to get me."

"Actually, he's at least half-Kneazle," remarked Jared. "He's smarter than the average cat, but I don't think he's out to get anyone. Kneazles are very loyal animals. They are at least loyal to their owners and they protect their owners, especially their personal space." Ron looked flabbergasted at the last part of Jared's explanation.

"You really think Crookshanks is half-Kneazle?" asked Hermione.

"Great, two know-it-alls in one place. How did I end up here?" muttered Ron as he threw his hands into the air, nearly knocking Neville's plant and toad off his lap. "I'm sorry, Neville."

"Or maybe, Crookshanks doesn't like you because you don't like him," pointed out Jared. Ginny and Luna started giggling. "If you made an effort, you two could get along."

Ron's face turned red as he glared at Jared. Now Hermione was giggling along with the other two girls. "Who the bloody Hell do you think you are?" demanded Ron.

Jared looked a little taken back by Ron's reaction. He knew that he had probably gone too far. "You need to learn how to take a joke," he said placating him. "I have a problem with my impulse control. I get it from my father. At least that's what my mother tells me. I also have his temper." It seemed kind of odd that anyone would share that kind of information with near strangers. It was a lapse on Jared's part; they didn't know him yet. "So, what does a prefect do exactly?"

Hermione glanced at Ron as he slumped into his grumpy mode. "You see we're in charge of the other students and we help them. Our school is on a point system. There are four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin."

"You don't want to get into Slytherin," put in Ginny.

Hermione continued, "Each house has certain characteristics and depending on your personality and what the Sorting Hat says, that's where you'll go. I, Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Harry are in Gryffindor, while Luna is in Ravenclaw. Each house acts as your family while you are at Hogwarts."

"I see," said Jared. He stopped rubbing Crookshanks' ears, which the half-Kneazle didn't really appreciate. He hissed at Jared. "Oh, I'm sorry, Crookshanks."

"That's all right. Crookshanks, you've gotten enough attention from him already. Come here," said Hermione gently. Crookshanks jumped off Jared lap and went over to Hermione, but stayed at her feet.

Harry quietly announced, "We're almost there. Why don't we get our robes on?" Jared was the only one who wasn't scrambling to get them on. Ron fumbled with his prefect pin again, exasperating Hermione thoroughly. She grabbed it from him and pinned it on his chest for him. Jared had seen a scene like that so many times. "There. Just leave it alone, Ron," ordered Hermione.

"That pin is like your head. Hermione has to straighten both of them out," quipped Ginny. Jared chuckled.

"What is this? Pick on Ron Day? Stop it before I give you detention!" snapped Ron as he glared at Ginny.

"Detention? I'm your little sister. How could you even consider giving me detention?" asked Ginny with mock shock.

"Fine, I could give you detention. You don't need to be in Gryffindor for that," said Ron as he threw a glare Jared's way. "You're the one who started the whole thing." Jared opened his mouth to defend himself, but he realized that he couldn't say it. If Ron knew who he was, he wouldn't be able to bring himself to even give Jared detention. He shut his mouth instead. Instead, he decided to put on his robes.

It was only a matter of time before he had to really get to work. Time was relative though, but Jared knew that he had taken a big gamble coming. The train came to a stop. Hermione and Ron were the first ones out of their compartment. He stared at them, wondering which one of them would be the target.

* * *

AN: It's not that hard to figure out who Jared is. He's smart as his mother, but he's got a lot of his father in him. He's certainly making a good impression. There will be Ron and Hermione moments, but not right away. I'm going back to my Ron and Hermione roots. There is a lot of background history to go over along with some questions to answer. Things are being seen from Jared's perspective. As for the title, it sucks, but I've never been good with titles.

Also, for those of you who are following Veritas, it has been put on hold because of the new canon material that J.K. Rowling has posted on her site that I cannot ignore. I need to figure out if I'll continue posting it on Fanfiction.net or just post it on my fansite. So, for you Veritas, readers who might be reading this, you can post your opinion if you wish.

By the way, I have lost my beta reader due to circumstances that are beyond her control. It is understandable. However, if anyone would be interested in editing this particular story, please contact me via email. Or post a review and I'll get back to anyone who's interested. This is just for beta reading this story.

kirikarin.livejournal.com

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.


	2. Teacher’s Pet

Temporal Flux

Chapter Two: Teacher's Pet

Jared managed to get into the same carriage as the others.  This time he was sitting right next to Ron.  Jared smirked at himself because Hermione had almost sat next to him, but Ron stopped her.  At the moment, Ron didn't like him too much, but not enough to make Hermione sit next to Jared.  Feeling self-conscious, Jared had the sleeves of his robes over his hands.  For the first time in his life, he was just as tall as Ron.  It was mind bending.  He was used to be looking up at him, not seeing eye to eye.

Jared was starting to wonder if anyone noticed any similarities between him and Ron other than the height and body structure.  He pressed himself against the corner of the carriage was sitting in and slumped in his shoulders in an effort to make himself look smaller.  His shoulders were broad like Ron's.  Jared regretted getting into the same carriage as them.  He should have picked another one. 

"What's wrong?" asked Harry, observing Jared's odd body language.  That was the last thing Jared needed: someone calling attention to him.  Ron turned his head to face him.  Their faces were a good distance apart from each other, but Jared was praying that Ron wouldn't notice anything.  Like his mother's skin, Jared didn't have any freckles.  It was part of his cousins' constant ribbing about him not really being a part of his father's family.  It was just teasing, but still it was always enough for Jared's father to get angry at them. 

Ron's blue eyes peered into Jared's face.  _Please don't let him notice my eyes.  For Merlin's sake, let him not notice my eyes_, thought Jared as he pressed himself even tighter against the corner of the carriage.  "Ron, don't do that!" exclaimed Hermione.  "You're scaring him for no reason.  You'll be fine, Jared.  Ron, stop that!"

Ron retorted, "I wasn't doing anything to him.  I was just looking at him.  He looks like he's sick or something.  Not that I really care."

"Can you two not fight, please?" requested Harry.  "I'm sorry I pointed it out.  Just stop."

"Yes, Harry," answered Hermione.

"All right, mate," agreed Ron.

"We can feel the love in here, can't we?" muttered Jared, earning a glare from Ron.  "I'm sorry.  It's that impulse control thing again.  I'm really sorry."

"No more.  Just everyone be quiet until we get to the castle," muttered Hermione with a sigh.  "Please just stop it."

The rest of the carriage ride was peaceful.  Jared stared impassively at the castle, not very impressed by it at all as one would have expected.  They all climbed out of the carriage and everyone made their way to the halls, except for Jared. 

He had to go talk to Professor McGonagall first and present his letter as an exchange student to her.  He had spent a good amount of time plotting his arrival, but he knew what he wasn't expected.  The only hope he had of gaining access inside was to introduce himself first and then let them sort it out later.  Hopefully, by the time anyone realized who he was, he would be long gone.

Jared knew exactly where to find her.  Professor McGonagall would be welcoming the first years to the castle.  That was her position before she became Headmistress back in his time and that's what his parents had told him.  Jared waited until all the first years were leaving ahead of her before approaching her.  "Hello?" he said.

Professor McGonagall gave him a look.  "Do I know you, young man?  I don't believe I've ever seen you before?" she asked.  "Which house are you from?"

"Actually, I just arrived.  I'm the American exchange student, Jared Blake.  The papers were sent ahead of time.  My transcripts should have arrived by now.  Surely, you knew that I was coming."

She shook her head.  "I don't believe the Headmaster has received any notice of your arrival, Mr. Blake.  Which school did you come from?"

"The Los Angeles Institute of Magic and Technology," replied Jared.  "It's a special school in California."

"Oh, it's the one that was just built.  Lots of the students are Muggle born children who would like to learn a trade in the Muggle world because the wizarding population isn't as concentrated in the US as it is here in England.  But, I'm sorry; I haven't received any notice of your arrival, Mr. Blake."

"That's a shame.  I just came all the way here on the train for nothing then," said Jared.

"We'll go and talk to the Headmaster after the dinner.  The first years need to be sorted, so you'll just have to take a seat with the other students until we figure out what happened," said Professor McGonagall in a hurried tone as she steered Jared towards the Great Hall. 

Jared automatically went to the Gryffindor table out of sheer habit.  He took his seat at the end, earning lots of questioning looks.  He glanced around and realized what he had done.  It seemed only natural for him to seat at his house's table.  He choose to ignore the looks, and everyone soon forgot about him as the sorting began.  It took a while to get the sorting done because of the usual cheering in between each announcement.

Professor Albus Dumbledore stood up at the head of the head table ready to make his annual announcements.  For Jared, it was like watching history come to life.  He had had heard lots of things about Professor Dumbledore and read a great deal about him, too.  And there he was in all of his glory with his long white beard and his blue eyes twinkling over his glasses.  "Another year at Hogwarts has begun," he started.

"First off, I would like to welcome all of our first years.  And I have just been informed that a student from the United States has joined us.  I believe he's sitting at the end of the Gryffindor table, Jared Blake."

Jared wondered if his ears were red because he could feel the heat rising out of them.  He gave a short wave from where he was.  Ron and Hermione were sitting closer to the front, and Hermione smiled at him.  It was almost reassuring for Jared.  "I do hope that he will find his experience here enlightening as well as challenging."

"As for another announcement, we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor; please welcome Demetrius De Luca from Italy.  He has graciously agreed to join us."  The professor looked very young for his age.  He had black curly hair and dark brown eyes.  A lot of the girls were already swooning at the sight of him.  Jared noticed one thing that would probably crush all of their hopes: De Luca was wearing a white collar.  He was a priest.

"Would you like to share a few words?" asked Professor Dumbledore to De Luca.  "Our last DADA professor got to make a speech, would you like to?"

"Not really.  I just want to say that I look forward to seeing all of you," replied De Luca, saying the last part louder so that everyone could hear him.  There was chattering from the girls about his Italian accent. 

"On to other business, this year is going to be a hard one because of the recent revelations about Voldemort's return."  There was a gasp from most of the people; only some of Slytherins looked a little smug.  "The safety of the students here is tantamount to everything else.  There will be restrictions this year that are beyond the control of this school.  First of all, the weekends at Hogsmeade have been restricted to only half the normal outings."  There was lots of groaning from most everyone.  "Second, as with previous years, no one is allowed in the Forbidden Forest as forewarned by one of our teachers it is not the safest place for certain individuals.  However, I do not want anyone to be afraid to learn.  That is what you are here for, but I want all of you to be aware of the situation.  Look to the Head boy, Head girl, and the prefects under them.  Remember to also not use magic in the halls and if you want to see the list of objects banned from the school, please talk to Mr. Filch.  Now, everyone tuck in!"

The food appeared on Jared's plate and he slowly started to eat.  Someone tapped him on the shoulder.  To his surprise, it was Neville.  "Did you need something?" he asked.

"Harry said you should be sitting with us," answered Neville.  "You will be joining Gryffindor, won't you?"

Jared blinked at the question.  He hadn't really thought of that.  He was a Gryffindor through and through, but he was starting to think that going to either Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff would have been a better idea.  He thought about it again and nodded.  He had to keep an eye on things in Gryffindor, and what better way than to be there in person? 

"Then, come and sit with us," urged Neville. 

Jared got to his feet and slowly walked over to where they were all seated.  Ginny introduced him to other members of the house.  Jared nodded and acknowledge each of them.  This time he was sitting next to Harry.  "Nervous?" asked Harry. 

"Kind of," admitted Jared as he glanced at Hermione who was discussing something with Ron.  They were discussing their prefect duties.  Jared always thought that she was beautiful, having inherited her softer features.  Jared turned his attention to Ron.  It would take a bit longer for Ron to come into his own; he was a long way off from the man he was going to really be.  Maybe the old adage was true; girls do mature faster than boys.  At least that's what Jared thought.  He noticed that Harry was following his gaze.  "I'm just surprised," covered up Jared, "because I thought fighting was the only way they talked to each other."  His voice was low enough not to be heard by either Ron or Hermione.  Harry shook his head, but wore a knowing grin on his face.

The dinner drew to a close and Hermione announced, "First years, you'll be coming with us."  Ron was on his feet Jared got to his feet and was about to go to with Harry until he remembered that he was supposed to meet with Professor Dumbledore first.  Jared walked up to the head table as the rest of the Great Hall slowly emptied out.  He didn't look back to see where everyone was going.

"Mr. Blake, there seems to be a problem with your transcripts arriving," Professor Dumbledore informed him.  "Without any announcement of your arrival, we are trying to assess the situation quickly."

Jared realized that the staff probably thought he was a security risk.  Someone had to vouch for him in order to stay.  He squared his shoulders as he saw the eyes of the professors on him.  The only two people who weren't giving him of suspicion were Dumbledore and De Luca.  The latter was giving him an almost impassive look.  De Luca stood up and walked up to Dumbledore and whispered something in his ear.  Jared held his breath and waited. 

"Our DADA professor does not deem you as a danger," concluded Dumbledore.  "You are free to stay in Hogwarts.  I don't think the Sorting Hat is necessary.  You already know which house you belong to, I take it?"

"Gryffindor," answered Jared with some relief.  "Thank you very much."  He nodded at De Luca who barely acknowledged him.  He turned a little and then realized that he was supposed to not know where he was going, "Um…where do I go now?"

"Professor McGonagall is the head of your house.  I'm sure she would be more than happy to show to Gryffindor Tower," answered Professor Dumbledore.  "Good night, Jared."

"Good night, Professor.  Good night all of you," said Jared as Professor McGonagall swept down to him and he followed her.  Jared didn't see the professors separate for the evening. 

Dumbledore gestured for Severus Snape and Demetrius De Luca to follow him.  "What did you say to him?" demanded Professor Snape, facing De Luca.

"The sneakoscope that I carry in my pocket vibrated, but I don't sense any evil from the boy," answered De Luca.  "I don't think he's here to harm anyone."

"Headmaster, how can you allow him to stay here, if his intentions are false?" asked Professor Snape.

Dumbledore smiled a little.  "I believe that boy has a purpose for being here and we cannot simply turn him away based on so little evidence.  We will have to wait and see what happens with him."

"We will keep ourselves aware of the situation," agreed De Luca.  Snape didn't seem all that convinced of the situation, but he gave a stiff nod of agreement.  There was something strangely familiar about Jared Blake, yet no one could really place him.

Jared hurried along to walk side by side with Professor McGonagall.  He had nothing, but respect for the woman and she had the ability to scare the dickens out of him.  They walked along for a moment without saying a word.  Professor McGonagall said, "Your things have been placed into the sixth year boy's dormitory.  The security at Gryffindor Tower is one of the tightest around Hogwarts."

"Because of Harry Potter," surmised Jared without looking at her.  "I know about what happened last year.  The news does travel to the US."

"Of course," agreed Professor McGonagall.  "I am reluctant to have you in my house as well as in this school, especially without any transcripts.  Hogwarts does have a certain level of excellence to maintain, Mr. Blake."

Jared was tempted to tell her that he was the top of his class and considered one of the smartest wizards of his age.  He gave a tight nod instead.  "Thank you for your vote of confidence, Professor McGonagall," he said politely.  There was no reason for him to be rude.  His mother always told him that he should only be rude when he had something good to gain from it, not just to simply get his way.  His voice held a touch of sarcasm, but then again he had his father in him, too.

Jared knew where he had to be when they stopped in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, "Password?" she asked.

"Pixie dust," replied Professor McGonagall.  The Fat Lady swung open and they stepped through the portal.  Almost everyone was in the common room, talking and playing games.  They all looked with interest at Jared, some of the girls were whispering to each other.  Professor McGonagall cleared her throat to silence the chatter and whispering, "As you all know, this is Jared Blake from the Los Angeles Institute of Magic and Technology.  He will be joining us for this academic year and has chosen Gryffindor as his house.  Please make an effort to welcome him.  Good night.  And remember to get some rest, classes are starting tomorrow."  With that, Professor McGonagall departed for the evening.

"Hello, everyone," said Jared, feeling his face getting red with shy embarrassment and waved weakly.  He kind of gave a weak laugh and took down his hand, wondering if he looked as stupid as he felt at the moment.

"Welcome to Gryffindor," greeted Hermione.  "It's great that you're here." 

Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil came over to introduce themselves.  They were giggling at Jared, making him extremely uncomfortable.  Like his father, he was a late bloomer where girls were concerned.  Furthermore, these girls were actually older than him by a couple of years.  Jared maintained a polite veneer through the whole thing as other students introduced themselves and asked him questions about Los Angeles.  Hermione was the only one who was really interested in what kind of studies he had experienced aboard.  Jared assured her that it was like Hogwarts.

When ten o' clock rolled around, Jared was happy that it was time for bed and practically ran up the boys' staircase to the sixth year dorm.  He noticed that his trunk was positioned in front of a bed, but not the same bed he was used to.  In fact, Ron had that position instead.  Jared changed quickly and trooped over to the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face.  He was meticulous about flossing and making sure his teeth were clean.  Soon, he was in bed with the curtains drawn, snuggled under warm blankets.  It felt like being home.

The first day of school was an eventful one and that was an understatement.  By the end of the day, Hermione detested Jared, while Ron took a liking to him.  It begun very innoxiously in the first class they had together.  Apparently, Jared's transcripts had arrived.  There was a trick to them.  They were real transcripts, but the name of the school was switched.  It was clear that Jared was a brilliant student. 

The first class that Jared had with his fellow Gryffindors was Transfiguration.  Professor McGonagall asked a question.  Jared's hand flew up just as quickly as Hermione's.  That was the first time anyone had ever seen that.  Professor McGonagall was a little stunned herself and called on Jared.  He answered promptly and correctly.  The following question was answered by Hermione.  It went back and forth like that.  The next question was the same, and the one after that, and the one after that.  Neville was sitting next to Jared and had to shift over several times to avoid Jared's hand, while Harry spent the entire time dodging Hermione's.  By the end of class, everyone was relieved and a bit frightened at the same.

The same pattern showed up in the next class, which was Potions.  The class was much more empty than last year because of the O.W.L. results.  Harry and Ron scored high enough to place in the class, which exceed the expectations of the Potions Master.  He decided to double check the scores personally when he saw the two come in, and Ron confirmed his scores on the O.W.L.s.  Harry didn't bother to say anything. 

Professor Snape found some amusement by constantly calling on Jared just to frustrate Hermione.  It was becoming a disturbing game of who could rack up the most points for Gryffindor.  Draco along with his associates were having a good laugh at Hermione's expense.  No one was that impressed that Jared could answer things correctly; they were more impressed with the fact that he was beating Hermione. 

The next class was a little more in favor of Hermione: Defense Against the Dark Arts.  Professor De Luca greeted all of them with a warm smile.  He wore his collar like he had done the night before and had a rosary clipped to his side on a sash.  "Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts.  My name is Demetrius De Luca.  I come from Rome, Italy.  I look forward to learning each and every one of your names."

"I have seen the report left behind by your former instructor," he said, noting how last years students gave looks of distaste and hate at the mention of the awful toad, Umbridge.  Jared looked around and shrugged.  "It seems that last year there was a lack of practice, except for those of you were members of the student club, Dumbledore's Army.  I want to talk to the students who ran it last year and discuss making it an official student organization.  No worries, I have received permission from the Headmaster who has deemed the class more than necessary.  Anyone who wishes to join should be allowed admittance.  First off, let me see just how much work we need to do.  I have a pop quiz for you."

"What?" exclaimed Ron.  "Can he do that?"  He hissed to Harry who shrugged his shoulders.  "Yes, I can," said Professor De Luca as he started to pass out the quiz.  "No more talking when you get it.  And do not start until I can say you can."  He finished passing it out and said, "All right.  Everyone begin.  You have ten minutes."

In less than five minutes, Jared put down his quill.  Hermione saw that he was finished and wrote even faster.  She finished two minutes after him.  Professor De Luca glanced at the clock in the back of the room.  In three minutes time, he announced, "Times up, quills down.  Please passed them up.  Harry, please stop writing."  He smiled at Harry who reluctantly put down his quill.  It turned out his answers were longer than either Jared or Hermione.

Professor De Luca looked at the quizzes and nodded.  "All right, let's see go over the answers to this quiz."  Those were the magic words because Hermione's and Jared's hands shot up into the air.  Professor De Luca laughed and looked around them, not at them, "Now, now.  No should be shy.  Anyone?  I guess I'll have to start calling random people, then Harry please answer the first question."  Reluctantly Hermione and Jared put their arms down. 

There was a sigh of relief as Harry gave an answer to the first question.  "Very good, Harry.  Ten points to Gryffindor.  All right, who wants to answer question number two?  Because if no one volunteers, I'll be asking one of the two people who will probably have their hands raised…now."  Hermione and Jared flung their arms into the air again, but this time everyone else raised their hands.  "Thank you very much, Ron.  Do you know the answer to the second question?"

Ron nodded and gave a shaky, unsure answer, but was relieved when Professor De Luca said he was correct.  Jared was mildly surprised because he always that Ron was so unconfident.  Professor De Luca went down the list and didn't call on either Hermione or Jared at all for the quiz questions. 

"I am a firm believer in practicing against the Dark Arts, but I also believe in knowing our adversaries.  Therefore, today's lesson will not be found in the book for this class," said Professor De Luca.  Hermione reluctantly closed her book, while Jared stared at him impassively.  "Today's lesson is a history lesson, and unlike any history lesson you've ever had in this school.  For the next fortnight, I will be covering the history of the Dark Arts along with theories as to what motives such crimes.  It is not enough that you know how to do the spells, but you must understand what you are up against.  Now everyone books closed, parchments out, and quills ready."

Everyone did as he asked and the rest of the lesson went without incident.  However, Jared was asking excellent questions, earning praise from the professor.  Hermione snapped her quill at least once and by the end of class was extremely irritated at Jared.  She would have left immediately, but had to stay behind with Harry and Ron to talk to the professor about DA.  Jared gave them a glance back as he walked of with Neville to the common room.

Professor De Luca closed the door behind them.  "I've been asked by Professor Dumbledore to be the faculty advisor for Dumbledore's Army, seeing that I'm the DADA professor.  I've heard from other students what you three have been doing, and I must say I find it very impressive.  Now, Harry, I will be supervising."

"Yes, Professor De Luca," said Harry.

"Do not worry, Harry.  I don't have any intention of actually instructing the club other than watching your progress.  What happens in DA is still up to you, if you'd like I can look over what you're planning on doing or help you come up with more things.  Other than I, I'm afraid that I will not be around as often to be really a true supervisor," explained Professor De Luca.

Ron cleared his throat and asked, "You're a priest, aren't you?  A Catholic priest?"

"That I am," answered the professor with a nod.  "I was trained by a special order of the Jesuits, so you will find my approach to teaching a bit strict.  I also have meetings to attend to in the Ministry of Magic on behalf of my order as well as for the Headmaster."

There was a lingering something in the air that told the three students that Professor De Luca was also a member of the Order of the Phoenix.  "You are free to go.  Oh, and Hermione, don't let yourself get carried away."

As soon as the trio were outside, Harry and Ron looked like they were waiting for Hermione to blow up.  "Are you all right, Hermione?" asked Ron nervously.  "I mean it's been quite a day for you."

"Hermione, say something," urged Harry.

"I've never seen anyone do that to you, Hermione.  I mean you're taking it very well considering.  I mean Jared's like a male version of you.  I never thought I'd see anyone like that," added Ron.  Both Harry and Ron stood on either side of Hermione.

"I hate him!" declared Hermione.  "I'll beat him if it's the last thing I do!  Who does he think he is?!  Acting like he didn't know anything!  I HATE HIM!"  She stalked off ahead of them.

"I'm glad she's not taking it badly, Harry," whispered Ron with a grin on his face as Harry started to double over with laughter.  Jared had succeeded in two things: getting Ron to like him and giving Harry something to laugh about.  Of course, he also incurred the wrath of Hermione in the process, and that was something he had never done his entire life.

* * *

AN: When I write a story, sometimes I don't know what to name a character and inspiration comes.  De Luca is one of the few original characters along with Jared who will be developed.  One has to wonder how he got hired, if Fudge is still picking out who the DADA professor should be.  And it also kooks like Jared's got a bit of a dark side when it comes to schooling.  Hermione has lost it, but her drive for perfection and fear of failure (as noted in J.K Rowling's site) are partly what make her an excellent student.  Now, let's see if Jared survives.

Someone mentioned putting in a Sorting Hat song, which I didn't do.  There are things that I can't do and one of them is song composition or even poetry.  I'm strictly a prose kind of girl.  Also, I like Hagrid, but I can't do his speech pattern very well.  In fact, I can't vary my speech patterns very well. 

By the way, the search for the beta reader continues.  I'm also late in getting back to people because I had schoolwork to do.  Anyway, I must also confess that I'm a few chapters ahead.  If I had a beta reader, they would go up faster. 

kirikarin.livejournal.com

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.  This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission. 


	3. Meeting with Dobby

Temporal Flux

Chapter Three: Meeting with Dobby

Hermione kept stalking down the hall, almost everyone moved out of her way.  Harry and Ron chased after her, trying to calm her down.  They had never seen her lose her temper at someone like that before.  "Hermione, calm down," pleaded Harry.

"You said so yourself before, schooling isn't everything," added Ron.  "And this whole thing has taken you to a dark and scary place."

"Hermione, he didn't really do anything wrong.  You can't be mad at him just because he's answering questions, too."

"It's not like he knows any better.  Hermione—"

She ignored them as she shouted the password at the Fat Lady, "Pixie Dust!"  The Fat Lady looked like she was going to scold Hermione for being rude, but taking one look at Hermione's face stopped her.  Hermione stomped through the portal with Harry and Ron practically in tow.  "What are you going to do?" asked Ron, looking at her face.  "I don't like that look on your face.  What are you thinking of doing?"

"I'm going to study," answered Hermione, having regained some of her composure.  "With everything that's been going on, I've gotten soft.  After getting the O.W.L results, I took a little break and that was a mistake."

"Uh-huh," muttered Ron with a nod as he looked over her to Harry.  "So, you think that Jared spent the summer studying?  That's how he's able to keep up with you."

"Of course, he studied over the summer, Ron!" exclaimed Hermione with a wave of her arms, realizing she was losing it again she closed her eyes to calm herself.  "I mean it's obvious that the Americans aren't as laid back as I thought they were.  So, that means that I should get back to work and take things more seriously."

"You weren't taking things seriously before?" asked Harry amazingly.  Hermione whirled around to glare at him and stalked off to her favorite corner of the common room to study before dinner.  To her agitation, someone with wavy, short brown hair was already sitting there.  "Jared!" she said loudly.

He was too engrossed in what he was doing to acknowledge her.  Harry and Ron strode over to her hurriedly, when they got there, Jared had turned his head.  He looked startled.  "Yes, Hermione?" asked Jared.

"Don't act like you don't know what you're doing!" she sputtered.  "Ah! Crookshanks!  What are you doing with him?"

"Keeping my lap warm," answered Jared, wondering what was wrong with her.  He was looking at her with very innocent eyes.  His eyelashes were kind of long and curled perfectly.  When he was a child, almost everyone said he was like a doll.   "Did I do something?"

Hermione was seething as she tried to calm herself.  She licked her lips and said, "You're sitting in my spot and you have my cat in your lap."

"This is your spot?"

"Yes."

"I didn't know that.  No one told me that it was."

"Well, I'm telling you that you're in my spot."

"Really?"

"Really!"

"Really?"

"Yes!"

Harry decided to stop them.  "Jared, keep studying.  Hermione, why don't we go for a walk?" he said in a soothing tone.  "You're having a bad day."

"Yes," agreed Ron hurriedly.  "Let's go and take a walk.  We'll come back later and Jared will be done, won't you?"

"Sure," answered Jared.  "Actually, I'm almost done with my homework.  But I don't remember how many inches of parchment that Professor McGonagall wanted for her essay?  I'm up to roll."

"That's due next week.  And you're almost done?" asked Hermione as she breathed deeply.  She was looking at it.  "I was going to start it tonight."

"Actually, it's just a rough draft," corrected Jared.  "I have to edit it before I turn it in.  I like it to be perfect."

"Don't we all?" muttered Ron.  "Hermione, let's go."

"But, he—" started Hermione.

"He's not doing anything," interrupted Harry.  "Let's go."  The boys were on either side again and guided Hermione out of the common room.  The rest of the common room had heard the exchange and were intrigued by Jared even more.  Ginny and Neville started talking.

"What happened to Hermione?" asked Ginny as she shot a look at Jared.

"He's what happened," replied Neville.  He told her everything that happened in all the classes he had with Hermione and Jared.  By the end, Ginny was laughing hysterically.  Dean, Seamus, Lavender, and Parvati eventually joined them and added to the recall of the day's events.

"It was the funniest thing I've ever seen," laughed Seamus.  "No one has ever raised their hand faster than Hermione."

"I loved it in DADA class when he started asking those really weird questions," added Dean with a chuckle.  "And when the professor said, 'That's a very good question, Jared,' Hermione looked like she wanted to hex him."

"I can't wait to see what happens tomorrow.  Look, you know that I like Hermione, but sometimes I just think that she needs to be taken down a few notches," said Lavender.  "I mean just now, look at what she did to Jared."

"He's so cute and he's smart, too," said Parvati as she looked towards Jared's direction. 

"You mean he's a little scary," said Neville.  "I don't know who's going to last here: him or Hermione.  I thought that they'd get along because they seemed fine on the train.  I thought if anyone was going to have trouble with Jared it was going to be Ron or Harry."

Ginny bit her lip as she thought hard about something.  "What's wrong?" asked Neville.  Her lips were in a firm line and she opened her mouth.  She shut it again as if she was putting her thoughts in order before saying, "Okay, I was just thinking that there's something weird about him."

"Yeah, he's smarter than Hermione.  Maybe not, he's just as smart as her," said Dean thoughtfully.  "You know you're right.  He fits right into Gryffindor and he hasn't even been here for a week."

"You know come to think of it, there is something familiar about him," agreed Lavender musingly.

"That's it.  That's what I've been thinking," exclaimed Ginny.  She lowered her voice again.  "I mean other than the fact that he answers questions and does his schoolwork obsessively.  There's other things about him.  You know, he hasn't really asked for any directions.  It's like he knows the school's layout."

"You're right," whispered Parvati.  "When he came into the Great Hall he just sat down at our table without thinking about it."

"I think we're overthinking this," argued Neville.  "We're not being very welcoming."

A shadow cast over them, causing them to turn their heads, Jared was standing just behind them.  "What are you guys talking about?" he asked as Crookshanks trotted beside him.  He leaned against the chair that Neville was sitting at.  It had one of the higher, sturdier backs, rather than the soft cushioned ones.  He had his hands folded over the other and his chin resting on top of them.  Ginny asked a question that caught him by surprised, "How tall are you?"

"What?  I—I'm an inch or two over six feet, and still growing.  I had a growth spurt recently.  Actually, I have a lot of those." answered Jared as he blinked at her. 

"My brother was the tallest one here, until you came.  You're the about the same height," observed Ginny.  She narrowed her eyes at him, but he stared straight at her.  "In fact, if I didn't know any better, you're built about the same.  You could fit into Ron's clothes and he could fit into yours."  Everyone else gave a nervous laugh as Jared turned and walked away. 

"Ginny, what did you just do?" asked Neville.

"Nothing.  I didn't do anything" answered Ginny.  "And it's impossible.  Isn't it?"

"What's impossible?" he asked, catching a look in her eye.  She shook her head, "It's nothing."

Hermione calmed down while she, Ron, and Harry walked along the lake.  After thinking about it for a bit, she realized how silly she had been acting.  She started to laugh out loud.  The two boys shook their heads and smiled.  "I was being so ridiculous.  Why didn't you two stop me?" she asked.

"It was too entertaining," answered Harry with a laugh.  "Hermione, it's just a little competition."

"And it's healthy for you," added Ron.  "It helps the rest of us know you're human, too."

"What about Jared?  Do you think he's human, Ron?" asked Hermione playfully.

"I'm not so sure about that," he answered with a shrug.

"All I know is that he's really giving you a challenge," said Harry thoughtfully.  "I've never seen anyone so determine to get to you without trying so hard.  Not even Ron can do that."

"What does all of this have to do with me?" asked Ron with mock hurt.  "I didn't do anything."

Hermione sighed as she rubbed her temples and laughed at herself again.  "I guess I was just upset that I wasn't expecting it.  It's like I got blindsided by him.  Maybe, I should apologize to him for the whole thing in the common room."

"You never apologize to me!" exclaimed Ron.

"That's because you're partial at fault," retorted Hermione.  Harry was partly glad that things were getting back to normal.  At least they didn't keep asking about his summer because it wasn't that exciting. 

Harry had spent most of his summer studying the books that Sirius and Remus gave him for Christmas.  The most interesting thing happened the first week he was back at the Dursleys.  After his uncle and cousin left the house, his aunt asked him about what was happening and what Dumbledore was doing.  This shocked Harry, but for the second time in his life he had seen her very anxious.  Harry was still angry with Dumbledore and mourning Sirius' death.  He found some comfort in his aunt's anxiety because she knew what it meant for Voldemort to be back.  There was something about Voldemort that she wasn't speaking about, and like other wizards and witches, she didn't dare speak his name. 

Harry told her that he had seen Voldemort at the Ministry of Magic, which made her pale for several minutes.  His aunt didn't ask if he was all right, but he had expected that.  She merely nodded and went about her obsessive-compulsive cleaning, causing Harry to think that something had happened to her that made her clean like that.  He didn't ask and she didn't offer any explanation.  After that conversation, they went back to normal. 

For the rest of the summer, Harry's uncle kept reminding him to send owls regularly to the members of the Order, but that was to keep them from coming to the house at all.  Harry's cousin steered clear of him all together.  Harry was reading his books, taking notes, and preparing for the school year.  He was looking forward to regular DA meetings and had devised several forms of attacks and defenses.  All the books contained historical facts about the Dark Arts, giving Harry a slight advantage over everyone in the DADA classes.  However, Professor De Luca was better than any known historical textbook on the Dark Arts.

"Actually, I wanted to tell you about what we'll be doing in DA this year," started Harry.

Hermione and Ron stopped in their tracks.  "You've already planned what we're going to do?" asked Ron.

"Yes," answered Harry.  "After what happened in the Department of Mysteries, I decided we should focus more on offensive spells this time around."

Hermione ventured after some minutes passed, "Harry, about what happened in the Ministry, you haven't really talked about—"  She stopped because Ron threw her a look to silence her.  She turned her head away and gazed at the lake.

"Let's get back," suggested Ron.  They went back to the common room, discussing their O.W.L. results, even though Harry knew what his friends got.  It was not a surprise that he did well in DADA, but it was a shock that he had gotten one for Potions.  It solved another mystery for Hermione, "I was wondering why we're all in the N.E.W.T. level class together."

"I want to be an Auror, so I don't really have much of a choice.  I'll have to stomach Snape for this year and the next," said Ron.  "What about you, Harry?  Are you still interested in being an Auror?"

"I don't know," admitted Harry.  "I don't really want to plan for the future yet.  Maybe for the immediate, but not for the distant."

"Distant?" asked Hermione.  "That's only two years from now, Harry."

"Let's see if I get out of here alive first, then I'll worry about things like a career," he said as they stopped in front of the Fat Lady.  "Pixie Dust."

"That's nicer," said the Fat Lady as she opened up for them.  The corner that Jared previously occupied was empty.  Neville was finishing up his Herbology homework, devoting himself much more than before because of the high score he had received in the subject.  Ginny, who was going to be taking the O.W.L.s later in the year, was busy talking to her friends.  They were planning on setting up a study session.  She was the most industrious Weasley since Percy.  Hermione's eyes swept throughout the room.

"What?" asked Harry as he took a seat.

"Where'd Jared go?" asked Hermione.

"He went to the room after he was done writing his essay," answered Neville.  "Crookshanks followed him."

"I thought that Kneazles were supposed to be loyal to their owners, Hermione," teased Ron.  "I think he likes Jared better than you."  Hermione turned on her heel and started to march up the boys' staircase.  "Hermione!  Where are you going?" asked Ron.

"To get my cat," she replied calm as she opened the door to the sixth-year boys' dorm.

"Honestly, Harry, I don't think it's very fair that the girls can go up our stairs and we can't go up theirs," commented Ron as he glanced at Harry.

"Now, Ron, why would you want to go to the girls' dorms anyway?  Who's up there that you want to see?" asked Harry, causing Ron to turn bright red.  Ginny started to giggle at him, obviously not too distracted by her friends. "Shut up!" Ron ordered her.  "Before I give you detention."

Hermione walked around the dorm and spotted Jared sleeping on his bed with Crookshanks on the floor, napping as well.  She was going to tell Jared to stop playing with her cat, but seeing him sleeping made her think otherwise.  There was definitely something familiar and innocent about him at the same time.  He was wearing only shirt and pants, having removed his outer robes, tie, shoes and socks.  He had gone to sleep without pulling a blanket over himself. 

Before Hermione was too angry with him to noticed just how handsome he was.  She was too annoyed with him to notice his eyelashes, which were sort of like hers, long and curled.  He looked awkward from time to time like someone who was adjusting to a growing body.  His hands were on top of his Transfiguration book.  Carefully, Hermione pulled it from him and grabbed the bookmark off the nightstand and saved his place.  She placed it next to his wand.  She could feel the warmth from him.  His hair was wavy, but looked very soft, touchable.  She didn't touch him anywhere else, but his hands.  His hands were big, but finely shaped with long tapered fingers.  He was right handed, judging by the smudges of ink and thick writer's callous.  She hadn't noticed that either.

Sighing, she saw how he haphazardly placed the things he had removed on top of the trunk.  She picked up the cloak and folded it, placing the tie on top of it.  She straight the shoes and left the socks beside them, not knowing why she was doing any of it.  When she was done, she picked up Crookshanks and left the room.  She closed the door quietly behind her.  Realizing what she had done, she didn't want to go back to the common room and explain herself.

Instead, she went to her dorm.  Crookshanks woke up from his brief nap, yawned, and looked up at Hermione.  She sat down on her bed with him on her lap.  "You know something about him, don't you?" she whispered.  "I wonder what you know about him."  Crookshanks merely purred at her.

It was just after eight when Jared woke up.  He noticed that the sun had gone down and sat up with a start.  Heaving heavy breaths, he looked around and noticed that he was by himself.  The first thing he did was put his socks and shoes back on.  He detested wearing socks and shoes as a child, and even now he preferred to go barefoot.  It exasperated his mother to no end, coming in with dirty feet.  He saw that his things were arranged, but didn't think much of it.  He didn't think much of Crookshanks being gone either. 

He came down the stairs to the common room.  He wasn't too concerned because he knew the way to the kitchens.  He noticed that people were still playing games, but saw Hermione studying.  Harry and Ron were playing chess, like most everyone they were distracted at the moment.  Jared decided to make his escape and slip away unnoticed.  He knew the shortcut to the kitchens and knew what routes to avoid.

He got to the picture of the fruit bowl and tickled the pear.  The painting opened and he stepped inside.  The house elves were busy working in their little tea-towels that were marked with the crest of the school.  It was the first time that Jared had ever seen so many house elves in one place.  One of the house elves wasn't dressed like the others, he was dressed in mismatched socks, a little maroon sweater, and shorts.  He bounded over to Jared.  "Oh, what's the matter?" he asked, staring at Jared with his large ping-pong like eyes.  "Young man, hungry?"

"Yes, my name is Jared.  What's your name?" asked Jared.

"Sir?  My name is Dobby," answered the house elf.  "Let me go and get you something to eat.  Sit.  Sit."

The other house elves came up to a little table and gave him a bottle of butterbeer.  When Dobby came back, they ran off.  He carried a huge platter of sandwiches and fruits.  "Thank you," said Jared, remembering his manners.

"You're welcome, Mister Jared," said Dobby as he bowed and tried to leave.

"Wait, do you mind joining me?  It's been a while since I've eaten alone.  I'm not used to it," requested Jared.

"You want Dobby to join you?" squeaked the house elf in amazement as he made a stool appear with a pop.  He took a seat next to Jared.  Jared offered him a sandwich, which the house elf blinked at and accepted after Jared gestured with it.  "These are good," said Jared after they were eating for a few minutes.  He took a sip of the butterbeer.

"Dobby only eats with Harry Potter until now," explained the house elf.  "Mister Jared good, too."

"I'm in Gryffindor, too," offered Jared.  "Do you see Ron or Hermione?"

"Wheezy?  Dobby likes Wheezy.  He's a great one, very kind to Dobby.  Hermy is good, too, but the other house elves don't like her as much.  She keeps trying to free them, but they don't want to be free," Dobby told Jared the latter part in a lower voice.  Jared had to get closer to hear him.  "She and Wheezy like each other."

"I know that," whispered Jared with a grin.  "I'm positive of it.  Thank you for dinner and the company, Dobby.  I'll see you again later.  I have to go back before anyone notices that I'm gone."

Dobby rose to his feet and walked him to the painting.  He also stuffed some pumpkin pasties into Jared's empty hands.  "Take these with you," urged Dobby, refusing to let him leave empty handed.  Jared nodded and accepted them.  He walked off towards Gryffindor Tower and took the same route as before.

When he got into the common room, almost everyone had gone to sleep.  Jared quietly went up the stairs to his dorm.  Someone was sitting at the fireplace and watched him go up the stairs and shut the door quietly.  She rose to her feet and walked up the stairs, but instead of going to her room she went to the sixth-year girls' dorm instead.  She raised her hand to knock on the door, but lowered it in doubt.  It took everything Ginny had in her to go back to her dorm and sleep away her theories about Jared.

* * *

AN: It's been a while since I've done a full on Ron/Hermione fic.  I pulled away for a bit because I didn't have any ideas after Living Memory, but recently I decided to come back.  It is some of the easiest writing I've done in a while.  I also went for lesser explored characters to avoid plagiarism, but that didn't really work.  This is not an invitation for anyone to copy and paste my work.  It hasn't happened again.  Why am I bring this up if it hasn't happened yet?  Consider this a pre-emptive strike. 

Jared hasn't pulled any pranks thus far.  His mother didn't like him being baby sat by his uncles too much, but that doesn't mean that Jared isn't carrying a bag of tricks.    His father has also been awry of the possibility of raising a prankster, not that he didn't find it funny.  If anything Jared's got a couple of things from his godfather that will aide him. 

By the way, if anyone wants to keep up with this story, I have author alert.  Also, in the journal, I'll be posting some previews possible.  I haven't decided yet.  There are several chapters ahead of this one completed, but I'm posting slowly.  I'd like to have some reviews before posting the next one. 

kirikarin.livejournal.com

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.  This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission. 


	4. Dumbledore's Army

 Temporal Flux

Chapter Four: Dumbledore's Army

The following morning, Jared got up before the boys in his dorm and came down to the common room.  He had his Transfiguration essay to edit and he wanted to do that before Hermione found him in the chair again.  It was his favorite place to study, too.  As soon as he was finished, he went back and got ready for the day.  Everyone else was already awake.

"You slept a long time," commented Seamus.

"Um…yeah, jetlag," explained Jared lamely.  "It's common when you travel like a Muggle."

"Are you a Muggle-born?" asked Dean.  Harry, Ron, and Neville looked busy, but it was fairly obvious that they were listening to what they were saying.

Jared shrugged his shoulders.  "I don't see how it's important."  The tension rose from him, causing the others to seize up a bit.  He pressed his lips together, and then parted them.  He sighed, "My mother is Muggle-born, while my father comes from one of the oldest pureblood lines in the world.  So, what do you think that makes me?"

"It's not a problem.  My parents were the same way, too," said Harry.  "No one's going to bother you about that here."

"Yeah, right," said Jared as he picked up his toiletry kit and towel.  He added as he went to the bathroom.  "But then again, I'm not Harry Potter."

The rest of the boys went about getting ready for the day quietly.  Ron broke the uncomfortable silence.  "Harry, do people ever ask about your parents like that?" he asked softly.

"Not really," replied Harry easily without as much as a blink.  "They don't think about where my mother came from, only what she did."

Ron shook his head and finished tying his tie.  He didn't know why he was thinking so hard about Jared's reaction towards Dean's seemingly harmless question.  It was something that Ron had never been asked because as a Weasley, almost everyone knew where he came from.  Harry didn't have such a problem because he had bigger things to deal with.  Ron barely knew anything about the world that Harry and Hermione talked about from time to time.  Ron felt left out at those moments.

Seamus and Dean went to the Great Hall ahead of them, while the others waited for Jared.  He came out with his hair damped, tying his tie.  Ron said, "Come on.  We need to get breakfast."  Jared looked little taken back by his invitation, but nodded and went along with them.  He let Neville, Harry, and Ron go down the stairs first.  He followed closely behind them and saw that Ginny and Hermione were waiting for them.

"Let's go and get something to eat.  I'm starving," said Ginny.  Spotting Jared, she went on, "You didn't get anything to eat last night, Jared.  You must be really starved."

Jared had stowed the pumpkin pasties in his stash of candy that he got when he was in Diagon Alley.  "But, I'm well rested," he countered with a slight smirk on his face.  There was something distinctly familiar with that smirk as he walked ahead.  "I woke up early to finish editing my essay."

Ron and Harry turned their heads to look at Hermione, waiting for her reaction.  She was very still as she kept her composure.  "So, what did you end up writing about?" she asked brightly.  "I finished it last night.  I even did the essay for Arithmancy.  What about you?"

"Oh, I finished that yesterday afternoon before doing the Transfiguration essay," revealed Jared, stunning Hermione as he continued to walk ahead of them.  She was frozen in place for a moment as Harry urged her forward.  "Come on, Hermione," he whispered.  She walked forward, but Harry and Ron went passed her.  They were hungry.

"Ginny, do you know anything about him?  You were talking to him on the train.  You had more time than I did," said Hermione, staring at the backs of Harry, Ron and Neville as they pulled away.

"Not much else," admitted Ginny.  "He's really a puzzle, isn't he?"  She didn't know why she didn't tell Hermione about seeing Jared coming into the common room with food in his hands.  She was going to confront him herself and ask him how he knew his way to the kitchens without a guide.  No one knew him well enough to tell him where they were.  "Do you think he might be interested in Harry?"  Ginny and Hermione's voices were low and the boys were long gone.

"You think he's here for Harry?" whispered Hermione.  She shook her head, feeling a vein throbbing as rubbed her temples.  Something in her was screaming at her, telling her that there's nothing wrong with Jared.  A wave of protectiveness came over her.  Something kicked in, but she couldn't identify it.  "He's not here to do anything to Harry," she concluded firmly.

"I thought you'd say that," said Ginny.  "By the way, did you ever get Crookshanks back from him?"

Hermione's cheeks turned rosy.  She turned her head and strolled faster through the hall.  "Hermione!  Wait!  What happened?" called Ginny after her.

They all caught up with Jared for breakfast.  The house elves always served every kind of breakfast food imaginable as long as it was of wizarding fare.  He already part way through his breakfast as Harry and Ron joined him.  Hermione and Ginny came a few minutes later.  Actually, Ginny was trailing after Hermione.

"Professor De Luca says that DA will have its first meeting tonight," announced Harry.

"DA?" asked Jared.  "What's that?"

"Dumbledore's Army.  It's the Defense Against the Dark Arts Club," answered Hermione.

"Oh, that's what Professor De Luca was talking about yesterday.  My attention span varies from time to time," said Jared, causing Hermione's eyes to widen.  He ignored it.  "So, what about it?"

"Everyone who wants to join will come, which means that three out of the four houses are coming.  Harry's in charge, so the Slytherin aren't going to come.  If they could start a Dark Arts club, they probably would.  If they haven't already, but a lot of their relatives were exposed last year," Ron informed him.  "Are you coming?"

"I don't know," answered Jared.  "There's a lot of homework that I have to get through."

"You did a bunch of the assignments already, haven't you?" pointed out Ginny.

"That was just the essays.  I have to study," answered Jared. 

Neville shook his head.  "You're worse than Hermione," he muttered. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" demanded Hermione without looking at Jared who wore small stunned look on his face.

"I'm not like her, am I?" asked Jared with shock.  Hermione glared at him.  "Not that it's a bad thing.  I'm sure.  I'll shut up now."  He turned his head to avert her gaze.  Ron started laughing at them, which got Hermione's glare redirected at him.  "What's so funny?" she asked calmly.

"You guys.  I'm happy I'm not the only one who you're fighting with," answered Ron as he continued laughing.  Hermione was going to say something until someone from the Ravenclaw table walked up to them.

"Are you talking about DA?" asked a girl.  She wasn't Luna or Cho.  She was another Ravenclaw all together.  She had honey blonde hair and blue-green eyes.  In fact, she was very sweet looking.  "I saw the noticed that Luna posted in our common room.  I was wondering if you had to say if you were going to come or not."

Harry answered, "No.  It's open to anyone who wants to come.  It will be in classroom that we use for DADA class."  It was decided that the Room of Requirements was too good of a secret to completely expose to the school and Professor De Luca preferred the classroom because it as easier to find.  "Just come after dinner."

"Thanks," said the girl as she smiled and went back to the Ravenclaw table.  Jared noticed that she was looking at Ron before returning to her seat.  No one else noticed.  He remembered that he was there for a specific purpose and he had to remind himself that things had to play out.  He couldn't just stop them, even if he could protect Hermione's feelings in the process. 

"You were saying, Hermione?" asked Ron.  She just shook her head and dug into her breakfast.  Jared had lost his appetite because he remembered that he had to find out where the dark wizard was before he or she could strike.  Jared still didn't have a clue as to who was going to get hit.  He was sitting next to Hermione, feeling the warmth of her body.  Her smell was familiar.  Jared could recognize it anywhere because from his very first days that were the only way he knew she was near. 

In the middle of day, during lunch, Jared went off by himself to go back to the dorm and look through his trunk for the clues that he had.  He dug to the false bottom and pulled out the boards.  The Marauders' Map was the first thing he pulled out.  Setting that aside for later, Jared pulled out a book.  It was Hermione's diary, but the main difference that this one had with the one in her room was that it was complete.  It chronicled the seven years that she had spent at Hogwarts.  No one else knew about it but him and her.  Jared flipped through it.  It had been enchanted to carry as much pages as Hermione required.  He didn't have to flip very long because it had been bookmarked to the current date with an old photograph.

The photograph was taken at the doorway of a house that had an unusual door knocker.  Hermione was years older, beaming at a newborn infant in her arms.  It was a wizarding picture, so the baby and she were moving.  She was waving his little fist towards the camera and the picture taker.  The baby was wrapped in a cashmere blanket, a combined effort from his grandmothers.  One grandmother bought the expensive material, but she didn't know how to knit.  The other grandmother could knit better than a spider.  The picture was colored, showing that the baby had a thatch of brown hair. 

Jared stared at it for a moment and placed it face down on top of the map.  To his relief, nothing hadn't really changed in it.  The spell that was weaved over Jared was in place.  When he would leave, everything would go on as if he was never there.  He read the entry, which talked about how the first DA meeting turned out.  There was nothing for that day that Hermione logged as unusual, so Jared closed it and placed it back inside with the picture as the bookmark.  Jared knew that he should read ahead more, but he had to get back and he felt like he was invading Hermione's privacy.  He didn't put the map back, but instead tucked it into his pocket.  He threw everything back into the trunk and slammed it shut.

Jared grabbed his things and went to the next class.  The rest of the day didn't ease him at all as he managed to stay out of trouble.  The meeting was going to start another thing all together as Jared thought about that girl who came to the table.  His parents never really talked about past suitors.  He did know about Viktor Krum, who he met when he was younger.  His father didn't seem too happy about it, but was absolutely smug when Viktor said that Jared looked like both his parents.  But this girl spelled trouble, Jared knew that his mother wouldn't bring up any of his father's old girlfriends.  His parents were too much in love with each other.  He was an only child and partly the reason was because his father loved his mother too much to risk her life on having another baby. 

During dinner, Jared had decided to go to the DA meeting.  He really didn't want to go because he already knew everything Harry was going to say and that wasn't in Hermione's diary.  He already experienced it before in his time.  By the end of dinner, he agreed to go to the meeting. 

He came with the others and noticed that the other two houses had joined them as predicted.  The girls from the other houses remembered him from the first night.  They were whispering among themselves as Jared tired to keep an eye on everyone from Gryffindor.

"Jared," called Lavender, "I was wondering if you were coming or not."

"It's pretty crowded, isn't it?" he observed.  This was a time when everyone wanted to learn how to defend themselves.  It was when Fudge was still in power in the Ministry of Magic, but was losing support fast.  Jared knew the rest of the story and that was probably the only reason why he wasn't very anxious.

"What kind of defensive magic have you learned?" inquired Ginny.

"The institute is cutting edge with their techniques.  Hogwarts is more traditional.  The institute actually has research by the faculty at almost university level.  So, I've picked up a few things from my DADA teacher back where I come from," answered Jared.

"I bet you haven't changed teachers as often as we have," said Neville.

Jared shook his head.  "Nope.  My DADA teacher started the year I started.  He's been there ever since.  He used to be in magical law enforcement, but decided to go into teaching instead."  He stopped talking and saw that Harry was at the front of the DADA classroom.  They had moved all the desks to the sides of the room to clear the middle.  Professor De Luca was leaning against one of the desk, looking very inconspicuous.  In fact, most of the students didn't notice he was there.  The girls had lost interest him after the first day of classes.

"Welcome back everyone," said Harry in a soft voice.  "I see there are lots of new people here, too.  So, I don't think we'll be wasting any time.  Time is something we may not have.  So, pair off everyone.  We'll just go over what we did last year.  Start practicing with disarming wands.  At the end, we'll talk about what we'll be doing this year."  He went on to explain the Disarming Spell, using Ron's help with a demonstration.  Jared watched the way that Ron did the spell because he had never seen him do it before.  After Harry was done explaining, he told everyone to pair off.

Jared looked around for a partner and found most everyone pairing off because they knew each other.  Obviously there were an odd number of people, leaving Jared the odd man out.  Feeling some embarrassment at the situation, he continued looking around for a partner after almost everyone had paired off.  He felt a tap at his shoulder.  "Yes, Harry?" he asked.

"I'm supposed to be practicing, too, but Ron and Hermione paired off without me, so it looks like we'll be working together," answered Harry.  "Do you mind?"

"No," replied Jared.  They stepped farther apart from each other and before Jared could even raise his wand in a battle stance, Harry shouted, "_Expelliarmus_!"  Jared watched helplessly as his wand flew out his hand.  And here he thought he would have an advantage over Harry who grinned and tossed back his wand.

"You should pay attention better," pointed out Harry.  "Don't waste time."  Jared fought the urge to smack his own forehead because that was one of the first things his professor taught him.  As soon as he had his bearings, he shouted, "_Expelliarmus_!"  Harry's wand immediately came to him. 

"That's good," complimented Harry.  "You seem to have it.  Want to—"He was interrupted by the sounds of people not doing the spell right.  It was the sound of a few people crashing into desks.  "Um…I should check that.  I'll be back."  Harry rushed off to see what happened in the other side of the room.  Professor De Luca hadn't moved from the desk.  He was now watching with keen interest and a smirk was tugging at his lips.  Jared figured that he was only there to make sure that things didn't get out of control and had confidence that Harry could handle it.

"What did you do?" asked Harry to a first year who was trembling.  He had knocked down three older students.  The first year explained without saying the incantation and flicking his wand.  "You're overdoing it.  If you put too much power into the spell you're going to knock the person out.  In fact, if more than one person aims the spell at a person, you will knock them out.  All of you should be targeting the spell at your partner, not anyone else's."

Ron and Hermoine glanced at each other with small grins as they remembered something that they had done before.  Harry knew what he was talking about from experience.  Jared didn't know that what they had done would eventually make him one of Snape's least favorite students by association.

They moved onto another set of spells to work on and Jared did them without any trouble, giving Harry a chance to walk around and see how everyone else was doing.  These spells were very easy for Jared because he had a better foundation in defensive magic and credit was due to his teacher.  Jared seemed to have a natural aptitude for everything he was doing.

"All right, I don't know when our next meeting is going to be because Quidditch is opening up for the season.  The Quidditch teams need to train, so we'll have to coordinate something.  Hermione will be the one to set up the next meeting, so keep an eye on your coins for it."  That was the very last announcement that Harry made at the end of the meeting. 

By this time, the girl who had come to the Gryffindor table earlier in the morning was making her way towards Ron.  Hermione was distracted by the Quidditch captain from the Hufflepuff team, while someone from the Ravenclaw team was also giving her the schedule.  Cho Chang was the team captain for Ravenclaw, but she no longer attended the DA meetings.  There were fewer Ravenclaws present than last year.  The Hufflepuff were the same in number, while the Gryffindors had increased by a couple of students.

"Hello, Ron," said the girl shyly.

Ron turned and faced her.  "Do I know I you?"

"No, you don't.  My name is Cassandra Levy," she replied.  "Casey for short.  I watched you all of last year when you were the keeper for the Gryffindor Quidditch team.  Are you going to be on the team again this year?"

Ron looked a little confused but at the same time he cheeks were red.  "Um…yeah, I think so.  Harry's back, too, this year.  He's going to be team captain."

"Really?" asked Casey.  "I thought that he wouldn't be playing this year considering that he spent most of last year not playing.  I mean he was on your house team for what?  Two years before your house won the cup, while you did it in your first year on the team."

"It's not Harry's fault.  It was the Chamber of Secrets that one year, and last year it was Umbridge's fault," defended Ron as he craned his neck looking for help.  He caught Jared's eye, but Jared didn't come to his assistance.  Harry finished first and walked up to Ron, relieving him.  Most people in Hogwarts were awry of Harry, so Casey backed off for the time being. 

Jared went off to Gryffindor Tower, not wanting to see anymore.  He just had to finish what he had come for and go back to where he belonged.  Crookshanks greeted him when he came into the common room.  The part-Kneazle rubbed up against Jared's slacks, prompting him to pick up Crookshanks.  Jared didn't sit in the chair that Hermione normally sat at.

Instead, he sat in front of the fireplace.  Crookshanks comforted Jared by purring as he gently stroked his fur.  Jared closed his eyes as he remembered what happened to Crookshanks.  Kneazles were long lived creatures and very loyal to their owners.  Jared remembered following Crookshanks around his parents' house until he got too slow, then they would take naps together.  Crookshanks had been there for the first five years of Jared's life and had died of old age.  It was estimated that Crookshanks was thirty years old in human years when he had died.  It was heartbreaking for Jared at the time.

Jared was very much like his father.  He was sensitive when things got to him, but like his mother he couldn't ignore others' pain.  Some said that he looked like his father, except softer and with different coloring.  But when people saw him with his father, there was no denying it.  The older Jared got, the more he resembled his father.  Although, his father insisted that he looked like his mother.

Staring at the fire, he was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't hear someone come in.  "Jared," called Ginny, startling him slightly.  Jared turned his head.  "I see you're with Crookshanks again.  You know, Hermione doesn't like you playing with him."

"Oh," said Jared as he set Crookshanks on the floor, but the part-Kneazle refused to leave his side.  The animal obviously knew who Jared was, or at least had a sense that he was someone familiar.  Crookshanks continued to nuzzle against Jared's shins.  "She doesn't like me very much does she?"

Ginny suddenly felt bad.  She was going to confront him about his trip to the kitchens the night before, but couldn't bring herself to do it.  There was something on his face that immediately made her want to make him feel better.  "She's just shocked that's all.  She's used to being the best because she feels like she's got a lot to prove.  I mean being Muggle-born and all," explained Ginny.

"It's harder when some people tell you that your father contaminated his bloodlines by marrying your mother," whispered Jared.  He sounded both angry and sad at the same time.  "When I first started school, I had a really hard time.  I got into a lot of fights that first year."

Ginny was appalled at the idea of someone telling that to anyone face to face.  Her mouth was opened with disgust as she said fiercely, "You shouldn't let a few people let you think you're not good enough just because you've got a Muggle blood in you.  I've heard what Neville, Harry, and the others say about you in class.  You're too brilliant.  Don't let anyone get to you like that."

"It's hard sometimes," whispered Jared with a sigh.  "My mother is beautiful.  Inside and out.  No one deserves to be told they're inferior.  Either to their faces or behind their backs.  I can't stand it.  I have my father's temper, so when I go off sometimes I just can't stop."

"Your mother must be something, if you're willing to fight for her like that," said Ginny softly with an appreciative smile.  "What about your dad?"

Jared faced her and smiled lopsidedly, trying to think of an answer for her.  After a few seconds, he replied, "My father is the most amazing man I have ever met.  If I could be half the man he is, then I'd be something.  He fights for what he believes in and is loyal to his friends and family, especially to my mother and me.  I mean he's got one Hell of a temper and does shoot off his mouth, but he's the fun parent.  He gets in trouble with my mother more often than I do.  He lets me get away with a lot more than he should, but he can't bring himself to really say no to me."

"You must miss them," said Ginny.

"Not really," admitted Jared without hesitation.  "I don't feel like I'm far from them at all."  Ginny gave him a questioning look, but before she could ask further, the portal opened.  Harry, Hermione, and Ron came in.

"That was a lot of people," said Harry with a sigh as he dropped into one of the soft chairs.

"Yeah, too many people," agreed Ron as he glanced over at Ginny and Jared.  They were sitting too close for his taste.  "What are you two doing?" he demanded, eyeing them suspiciously.  Ginny rolled her eyes and got to her feet.

"We were just talking," said Ginny.  "You know having a conversation.  It's an art, you know."

"Don't quote your Muggle Studies class at me.  What were you talking about before we came in?" snapped Ron.

"I don't have to give you an answer.  I'm going to bed," declared Ginny as hurried to the stairs.  Ron wasn't going to drop it, but he turned his attention to Jared.

"What are you doing with my sister?" accosted Ron.

Jared regarded him without blinking.  To think, he was actually saying nice things about him.  "You're a freak, aren't you?" concluded Jared.  Normally, he knew better than to push Ron's buttons like that, but Jared didn't know what came over him.

Ron looked at him with his mouth agape in shock.  He snapped his jaw closed as his ears reddened.  Jared realized he might have gone one step too far this time.  "A freak?!" exclaimed Ron.  "That's it!  Five points off Gryffindor!"

"Ron!  You can't take points off just because he insulted you!" shouted Hermione.

"Why are you defending him?!" shouted back Ron.

Hermione looked flustered because she didn't know the answer to that question.  She didn't know why she was defending Jared, and it wasn't as simple as her agreeing with him or wanting to disagree with Ron.  She felt torn as she glanced at Jared briefly who rose to his feet.  He looked pale.  "I-I'm sorry.  Just stop fighting.  Please stop fighting," he whispered in a shaky voice, sounding very wounded.

There was something about his reaction that shocked Ron and Hermione into silence.  Jared noticed it, too.  He clutched his jaw and stalked out of the room without saying anything else.  He changed his clothes quickly and didn't bother to brush his teeth, even if he knew he should.  He just didn't want to face either Ron or Harry when they came up.  He drew his curtains closed and laid there, staring at the canopy until he fell asleep.

* * *

AN: Jared has some issues that happened to him when he first started school, even with the war over by the time he starts racism would remain an issue (if JK Rowling is modeling her world after ours, it's true).  So, he's a little defensive and perhaps overly sensitive.  And the plot has thicken.  It takes me a while to get to things because I have a need to describe things.  Studies show that babies, who lack a lot of visual acuity as newborns, can smell the difference between their mother's milk and another's.  So, that should be a hint as to why Jared is so familiar with Hermione.  Hmm…why is Hermione so determine to defend Jared?  She's done it twice here.

Furthermore, I have a few ideas as to what Harry will do for a living.  Remember, the Aurors are under the Ministry of Magic and chances are he may not want work for them.  After what happened in the fifth book, it's sort of a good hint as to what Harry might end up as when he finishes school.  And I will assume that Snape will survive to the end.

By the way, who should find out about Jared's identity first?  I was between Harry and Ginny, but who?  I'm leaning towards Ginny, but in the later chapter that I wrote Harry has got as much of a chance of figuring out who Jared.

kirikarin.livejournal.com

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.  This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission. 


	5. His Mother's Son

Temporal Flux

Chapter Five: His Mother's Son

It was a revolting sight from where Jared was sitting.  That Casey was the most annoying person he had ever encountered at any time.  She was constantly talking to Ron over the next few days.  _Why didn't he just shoot her down?  Bloody Hell!_, thought Jared as he continued to watch.  He wasn't the only one who was noticing.

Harry and Ginny were paying close attention because they were on the Quidditch team; they had seen Casey come to all of the practices.  Harry was elected team captain and most of the team this year was new.  He had the most experience and directed the team flawlessly.  Harry did it because they needed him, but he was more interested in DA than he was in Quidditch.  Hermione told him that DA was good, but Quidditch was better for Harry to escape with. 

If anyone noticed as much as Jared did, it was Hermione.  To his surprise, she didn't appear upset or angry.  Instead, she was surprisingly calm to the point of being completely dispassionate.  Jared disliked it even more than Casey and Ron together.  The whole made him extremely irate.  What the Hell was wrong with these people?  He couldn't understand it at all.  He wanted know why.

"We still need to get a better beater," said Ginny to Ron and Harry.  She had been helping them fill in the team because she had surprising insight.  To know a Weasley, was to know Quidditch.  Jared knew that.  In fact, he was an excellent Quidditch player, but he was usually a keeper.  He didn't say anything because he was supposed to not know how to play Quidditch at all, but a weak, strange American version.  As much as Jared wanted to play Quidditch, he decided against it.  He did have a broomstick, but he had it in his trunk.  It was much more advanced than Harry's Firebolt, so Jared had to keep it hidden.  He needed it just in case.

Besides, Jared was building a reputation for being smart, not athletic.  People from other classes were asking him for help, but he didn't offer any.  Hermione said he was being mean, but she helped them anyway.  Jared also accidentally did something that he shouldn't have.  He wrote an advanced, proven Transfiguration theory in his paper.  Professor McGonagall summoned her to his office and they had a long talk about it.  It became a heated argument.  In the end, she still didn't think it was possible, while Jared still insisted it wasn't far off.

The theory that Jared wrote about was the ability to transfigure a wand into another object altogether, so that one still could carry.  A wand could even be transfigured into a weapon like a sword.  Jared had seen his father do it on more than one occasion.  It was extremely difficult and Jared hadn't been able to do it himself, despite many hours of practice.  Jared was no where close to being as good, skilled, or powerful as his parents.  He was still a child after all, even though he was fast maturing.

"Are you sure you don't play?" asked Harry to Jared.

"Nope," answered Jared.  "I don't play Quidditch.  In fact, I think it sounds weird."

Ron gave him a dismissive wave of his hand.  "You Americans play that weird game.  What's it called?"

"Quodpot," answered Jared.  "I mean, where's the explosions?!  You guys don't have that."

"Crazy American," muttered Ron.

Jared shrugged his shoulders as he spotted, much to his dismay, Casey approaching the table.  He glanced at Hermione who looked upset, but it only lasted for a flicker.  Jared exhaled and kept his hands wrapped under the sleeves of his cloak.  Ron's hands were right on the table.  He didn't want anyone to notice that he had his hands.  Jared didn't visibly flinch when Casey put her hands on Ron's shoulders.  Inside, he was cringing and his anger was bubbling up.

Yes, he did have his temper, but at the same time he had his mother's high tolerance.  He had to develop a thick skin when he started in Hogwarts.  His temper flared up frequently when he first started.  One of his professors warned him that he couldn't just his temper control him, even his father had to learn how to channel his anger properly.  Jared was having a hard time because it was hurting Hermione. 

Breakfast was over Jared could even notice.  He went off to class, trailing behind the others.  Things were going to get a lot worse before they were over.  Jared had to remind himself that he had to refocus.  If he wasn't worried about Harry because he knew that everything would be fine, then why was he so concerned Hermione and Ron?  Jared had to focus because if he wanted to figure out who need protection.

The Gryffindor Quidditch team continued to train and Casey continued to see Ron.  This continued to vex Jared.  Ginny started to notice it over time.  After over a week, Jared was no closer to figuring out who the target was and what Ron saw in Casey.  Jared thought Hermione was better and that Casey was infinitesimal compared to her.  Yet, Jared didn't do anything about it.

Jared started attending the Quidditch practice, even though the first match was a week away.  Hermione didn't come all that often because she stayed in the library.  He knew that she only tolerated Quidditch for Ron's sake, and eventually Jared's, too.  Jared tried to chalk Ron's current relationship with Casey as youthful stupidity, but Jared didn't suffer any foolishness lightly.

Just when Jared thought problems couldn't get worse for him, he ran into one named: Draco Malfoy.  When it became obvious that Jared was becoming friends with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, Snape lost interest in him and gained irritation towards him.  In fact, Snape had given Jared detention for being a know-it-all.  As far as Jared was concerned, it was a relief because what was happening was just unnatural.  He didn't really like Snape being so nice to him.  That was the unnatural part.  The main problem with Draco was that he didn't like Jared very much at all.  Now that was ironically funny to Jared, but he couldn't bring himself to do anything to Draco really.

On one particular bad day, Draco did say something that did set off Jared's temper.  He was on his way to see the Quidditch practice.  Hermione and Neville were walking with him.  Neville needed some help in Transfiguration, so Hermione was going to tutor him in exchange for some help on medicinal plants in Herbology.  Draco was determined to get a rise out of either Hermione or Jared.

"So, off to go to see the Quidditch team practice, Blake," sneered Draco.  "I thought Americans played a water down version."

Jared had enough tolerance to ignore that snide remark.  "No, I happen to like watching Quidditch."

"Bet you couldn't even get on a broomstick."

"We have broomsticks in America, Malfoy.  In fact, we've developed some of the fastest ones in the world."

"Blake?  That's not a common name here in England," said Draco, coming in for a kill.  "What are you?  A Mudblood?"

"No," answered Jared coldly.  "My father is a pureblood."

Hermione intervened, "Malfoy, get out of our way.  I'll take points off if you keep blocking us."  She glanced at Jared.  He looked paler, but the tips of his ears were reddening with every passing second.  Warning bells were sounding in Hermione's head. 

"I'm a prefect, too, Granger," Malfoy reminded her.  "I guess Mudbloods stick together."  That was one step too far.  Jared gripped his wand tightly.  Malfoy went on, "I don't really know what's worse really.  I mean someone who is just a Mudblood or a pureblood mixing with one.  It's hard to say, isn't it?"

Jared released his wand, but Malfoy noticed and drew his.  "Come on, Blake.  What are you waiting for?" he taunted.

"No magic in the halls!" shouted Hermione as she stood between them.  "Jared, let's just go.  Jared."  She faced him and startled at the expression of absolute fury on his face.  Jared jaunted past with inhuman speed and went toe to toe with Malfoy.

"I don't need a wand," he said coldly as he gripped and twisted Malfoy's wrist, causing him to drop the wand.  Malfoy was surprised, but not enough to keep from fighting back.  His pale face was red in pain and anger.  His other hand rolled into a fist and came at Jared, who blocked it deftly as if it were nothing.  In that split second, Jared released Malfoy's wrist and punched him in the stomach.  As Malfoy went down, Jared used his elbow to hit Malfoy's back.  He hit his kidneys before he hit the ground.

Neville and Hermione stood there with their mouths and eyes wide open.  Hermione took a step back when Jared twisted Malfoy's wrist.  The other students in the hall stopped when they saw the fight break out.  Malfoy's cronies came running over with Pansy Parkinson just behind them.  The Slytherins had their wands drawn. 

"You racist, son of a bitch," heaved Jared.  "I've been dealing with people like you long enough to know that this is the only thing you understand."  He looked at all the wands drawn at him without any fear.  His jaw was clenched. 

"Stop this immediately!" shouted Professor McGonagall as she came over.  "What is the meaning of this?  What is blocking this hallway?"  She stopped short when she saw Malfoy on the ground.  He was bleeding from the mouth and doubled over in pain.  Jared stood over him without turning to face the Transfiguration professor.  "Mr. Blake," she whispered.  "Come with me.  Someone get Mr. Malfoy to the infirmary."

Crabbe and Goyle picked up Malfoy by the shoulders and lifted his feet off the ground as Jared surrendered to Professor McGonagall.  The Slytherin all parted along with everyone else.  Pansy stayed just long enough to threaten Hermione, "He's going to get expelled from here for doing that to Draco."

"Malfoy started it," retorted Neville.  "Get out of our way."  Hermione was stunned into silence.  She glanced at the direction that Jared had walked off in.  No one had ever actually said that about Malfoy.  No one had ever dared to state the obvious like that.  Hermione had seen Ron lose his temper just like that, but it never came down to that.  She decided it was best not to tell Ron about what happened in the hall.  He would probably go and find Malfoy and do something even worse than Jared.

When practice was over the Quidditch team came back to the common room to find it a buzz with news of Jared and Malfoy's fight.  Hermione was sitting at her usual chair, ignoring it.  None of them had heard from Jared since Professor McGonagall took him away.  She was nervously biting her lip, not concentrating on her homework. 

"Harry, you're killing us!" declared Ron as he took off his outer Quidditch robes.

"We need to get ready for the next season," insisted Harry.

The rest of the Quidditch team was too tired to respond or argue.  They all dropped into chairs, sinking into them.  Ron noticed that the other people were talking about something and didn't seem to have noticed that seven members of the house just came in.  "What's going on?" he whispered.

"Jared and Malfoy got into a fight in the hall while you were in practice," answered Neville.  "He put Malfoy in the hospital.  Broke his wrist and punched him in the stomach.  That's what we're talking about.  Professor McGonagall caught the end of it, and she took him to her office.  I think he might have even gone to see Dumbledore.  He hasn't come back yet."

"Why did he fight with Malfoy?" asked Harry in amazement.

"He called him and Hermione," Neville paused.  "I'd rather not repeat what he called them.  Jared disarmed him by twisting his wrist.  That's how he broke it."

"He's one Hell of a fighter," said Seamus.  "We saw him just knock him to the floor."

"He elbowed his back on the way down," added Dean.

Ron felt his temper rise.  He had completely missed the details of the fight because he was only paying attention to one thing.  He strode over to Hermione who looked up at him.  "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Fine," answered Hermione.  "I'm just worried that Jared might get expelled."

"Never mind him," said Ron with a wave of his hand.  "I can't believe Malfoy said that to you.  He's rotten git.  He hasn't got a leg to stand on.  His father's already in Azkaban—"

"Ron," interrupted Hermione.  "Just calm down.  Please.  Jared's already in trouble."

"I don't care about him!" exclaimed Ron, still stinging from what Jared said about him the night before.

Hermione shook her head at him.  "You both need anger management.  I didn't think it was possible for anyone else to have your temper, but he seems to have it," she said completely exasperated as she rose to her feet.  "I'm going to bed."

Ron looked flabbergasted.  "He doesn't have my temper!" he shouted out loud.  "We're nothing alike!"

Harry glanced at Ginny, who glanced at Neville.  Around the common room there was a general agreement that Ron and Jared had a lot in common.  Not that anyone would say that.  In fact, when Ron looked around again, everyone tried to look busy.  Harry was now thinking that there was something distinctly familiar with Jared.

The following morning was Saturday.  Jared was sleeping soundly behind his curtain.  He had returned to the dorms after he had his first night of detention.  Jared was lucky that he didn't have to answer to Snape.  Instead, he was given detention with De Luca.  Jared didn't want to spend time alone with either of those two professors, but De Luca was the lesser of the two.  He was sent back to the dorms after spending one grueling night cleaning the DADA classroom with nothing more but a mop.  He had to scrap gum from under the desks, and the wizarding variety was particularly difficult to remove.  In the end, he was just dead tired.  Professor McGonagall didn't send Jared to Dumbledore, despite probably wanting to.  There was something going on that Dumbledore had to attend to. 

Jared had to serve out two weeks of detention with De Luca and he wasn't allowed to go to Hogsmeade with the other students.  Twenty-five points were taken off from Gryffindor.  Jared just added it to the mental count of points that he had taken off over the years from his house.  McGonagall was going to send word to Jared's parents, thinking that she could easily inform them.  Jared got some pleasure out of the fact that his parents were easy enough to reach, but McGonagall wasn't going to be able to get much help out of them.  In fact, one of his parents had witness what he had done.

The punishment worked to Jared's advantage.  He didn't really want to go to Hogsmeade anyway.  He knew that Ron and Casey were going to meet there for a date.  Harry and Hermione were probably going to go along with Ginny, Luna, and Neville.  Also, Jared wanted a chance to look around the boys' dorm uninterrupted.  He had to look through two trunks: his father's and his godfather's.

He kept his eyes closed as he listened to the other boys rustle around the room.  His curtains were drawn indicating that he was there, but not awake.  He could hear the sound of footsteps pacing around him.  If his eyes were opened, he would have seen someone tugging at the curtains, deciding whether to draw them open or not.

Ron pulled his hand back from the curtains, leaving them closed.  He was dressed in his best clothes, but they weren't that great.  He picked the jeans that were the least worn out and the least faded shirt he had.  He didn't know why he was hovering around Jared's bed like that.  His eyes fell on the trunk that Jared had.  Now that struck him as strange.

The trunk was old.  Older than Ron's, but all the clothes that Jared had along with his schoolbooks been brand new.  It didn't make much sense to him.  Why would someone have a really old trunk, when he could afford new things?  It would have made a lot of sense to buy used books and get a new trunk to hold them.  Ron glanced at his trunk and noticed that it was almost the same color as Jared's, only brighter.  It was clear that Ron owned the newer trunk between the two of them.  He saw the top part of the Jared's.  It didn't have the circular disk on it with Ron's last initial on it, but there was a sign that something used to be there.  There were wheels attached to the bottom of the trunk, but those looked newer than the rest of Jared's trunk.

Before Ron could examine the trunk with his fingers, Harry showed up from the bathroom, drying his hair.  "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Nothing," answered Ron.  "Just looking."

"Jared came back late last night or early this morning.  I think he needs to sleep," pointed out Harry as he hung his towel over his trunk.  Dobby would come back later on and take it for laundry.  "You wanted to ask him about last night?"

Ron stuffed his hands into his pockets.  "No," he muttered.

"It shouldn't bother you," went on Harry.  "I mean he stood up for Hermione and himself."

"I'm not like him," repeated Ron from last night.  Harry looked at him with a raised eyebrow and stopped himself from insisting that Ron and Jared were alike.  Too much alike at times because there were moments when Jared was completely different from Ron.  Actually, Harry was thinking at first that Jared was a lot like Hermione.  Now he was just plain confused.

Jared listened to all of it.  He had opened his eyes part way through and wanted to say something.  Sure he was like Ron, but not so much so.  He glanced at his hands.  They were rough from polishing the desks.  He clenched them into fists then released, thinking just how much he was like Ron.  He had his hands, damn it!  And his feet along with a lot of other things. 

His mind went to where he had come from.  There was no doubt in Jared's mind that his parents were worrying about him.  His mother cast the spell, but his father sent him almost unwillingly.  It was the only way.  That's what his mother had said.  His father didn't want to risk Jared at all, but relented in the end.  It was Jared's idea in the first place.  He could still hear them discussing it with his godfather.

"Ron, we have to get going," said Harry.  "You don't want to be late do you?"

"No, of course not.  Why am I wasting my time here?" responded Ron.  The sound of rushing footsteps followed soon after.  Jared laid there for a good five minutes before sitting up and drawing the curtains open.  The first thing he decided to do was scrub himself clean.  Ron was the only one at the dorms who didn't use the same bathroom as the boys' because he had access to the Prefects' Bathroom.

Thankfully the bathroom was empty because almost everyone had gone to Hogsmeade, giving Jared some time to take a long bath.  Smiling, Jared recalled how much he used to detest taking baths.  His father had to be the one to coax him into the tub at home every other day until he was about six years old.  His father ended up chasing him around the house, much to his mother's amusement.  Jared soaked for a long time, relieving his muscles from the strenuous work that De Luca made him do.  Like his father, Jared didn't like cleaning the Muggle way.  After an half hour, Jared got out and dried himself off.  He dressed in plain Muggle clothes that his mother had bought him.

Jared walked barefoot to the room, preferring not to put on his shoes and socks until the last minute.  Besides there was no one there to compare his feet to Ron's.  At night, he was forced to wear his socks until everyone was asleep before he could pull them off.  As a baby, his mother said he would pull off his booties with sighs of happiness.  No one had any idea why he didn't like socks and shoes.  It was an exasperating problem for his mother because his feet were dirty in the summer and cold in the winter.  On top of that, his mother kept finding socks in the piano when he got older.  His father just laughed and called Jared, "his weird child." 

The first thing Jared did was take his key out and unlocked Ron's trunk.  As he predicted, it wasn't as organized as his.  Still, Jared carefully took things out of Ron's trunk.  Disappointed, he saw that there wasn't much in there other than clothes and books.  Jared knew about the Weasley family's financial status.  He also knew about the Grangers being much more well off even by wizarding standards.  So, when Jared found the sack of money that Ron had, he didn't bother to open it.  There was nothing in the trunk of any use to Jared.  He even went so far as going through the false bottom, but only found more money and some candy. 

He carefully put everything back the way he remembered it being.  Not that Ron could tell the difference, but from personal experience Jared knew that Ron was more observant than most people gave him credit for.  The next thing Jared did was go through Harry's trunk, which would have been trickier to open.  Jared also had a key to it.

Harry's trunk was more organized than Ron's.  Jared found the invisibility cloak at the bottom and the Marauders' Map, but he already had those.  There wasn't much else.  There was a mirror that was foggy, but Jared didn't know why it was there.  Jared left it alone and continued rummaging through the rest of the trunk.  He didn't find anything there either, so he placed everything back where it belonged and shut the trunk.

Jared glanced out the window and realized that it was still sunny enough to enjoy the weather, but glanced down at the tree that was near the lake.  Hermione was sitting there by herself.  Why hadn't she gone to Hogsmeade like she was supposed to?  Jared hurried to put his shoes and socks on before going down to see her.  He was hungry, but he felt like being around Hermione more than getting something to eat.

Hurriedly, he practically ran out of the castle looking for her and hoping that she hadn't moved from the tree.  He saw that she was still sitting there without any books or homework.  He caught his breath trying to appear as casually as possible before approaching any closer.  Jared cleared his throat when he noticed that Hermione didn't seem to see him.  "Hermione," he called after a minute passed.

Hermione turned her head slowly.  She hadn't been crying, but her eyes were sad.  "Oh, I didn't hear you," she admitted as she stared at him.  "Do you want to sit with me?"

Jared didn't need to be asked twice as he sat down next to her.  "Why didn't you go to Hogsmeade?  I didn't go because I got it as part of my punishment for fighting Malfoy," he told her.  "I have two weeks of detention, no Hogsmeade this time, and twenty-five points off Gryffindor."  He was feeling ashamed of himself at the moment.

"Fighting Malfoy wasn't worth it," said Hermione, but without the usual disciplinary tone that Jared would have expected.

"I'd do it again in a heartbeat," admitted Jared.  Hermione whipped her head to look at him.  Now that was the look that Jared was after.  "I mean…you know—look I have a really bad temper.  I can hold it, but sometimes I just can't.  Haven't you ever gotten so mad that you wanted to hit Malfoy?"

Hermione laughed.  "I did.  I did hit him once in the face actually.  I slapped him," she said in a soft voice.  "It was during third year, but it wasn't because he insulted me.  You have to pick your fights better, Jared."

Jared wasn't going to say that he fought Malfoy because he had insulted her more than him.  Malfoy had insulted Hermione twice over.  That was really what set Jared off.  He didn't really fight Malfoy for himself.  "That still doesn't answer my question about you being here by yourself, when you could go to Hogsmeade with everyone else," he said, changing the subject all together.

"I just didn't feel like going," answered Hermione in a soft voice. 

"Is it because Ron and Casey are having their date?" asked Jared rather impulsively.  Hermione closed her eyes, while Jared silently prayed for her not to cry.  He couldn't stand it when she was upset, but he hardly ever saw her cry.  "Look, I know it isn't any of my business.  I'm sorry if I'm prying too much," he added hurriedly.

"Am I that obvious?" asked Hermione in a whisper.  Her lip was trembling.  She didn't know why she was telling Jared any of it.  There was something in him that brought her some comfort.  "You know the last time I really cried was my first year here.  Ron said that I was a nightmare and that was the reason why I didn't have any friends.  I didn't know what was worse at the time.  The fact that it was true or the fact that he was the one who said it."

Jared knew that there was only one person in the world who could hurt Hermione that much was Ron.  Honestly, Jared never thought that Ron was that oblivious.  For a very passionate person, Ron was just plain unfeeling at times.  Maybe he didn't need to be so careful with Ron's trunk after all.  Jared fought the urge to put his arms around Hermione.  He had to keep his distance. 

"Then why don't you do something about it?" asked Jared.  "Why don't you just say how you feel?  It's better than this."

Hermione shook her head slowly.  "I don't think he would do anything about it.  We're just best friends.  And that's better than nothing, isn't it?  I don't want him to feel like he has to do anything else.  It's good enough just being there."

_I don't believe you!_, screamed Jared in his mind.  He rolled his hands into fists and swallowed the words he wanted to shout out.  He wanted to tell her everything was going to be fine and that he was proof of it.  He wanted to ease her heartache.  These were all the things brewing in him, but he fought it.  He pushed it down.  "I care, too, you know.  I care about you," he whispered.  _I love you.  And you love me.  You've loved me even before you knew you were going to have me.  You love me because I also come from my father._

Hermione swallowed, but the tears remained close to the surface.  Yet she didn't cry.  She believed him and found solace in his familiarity.

* * *

AN: So, I plagiarized from myself by taking my old idea from Runaway Fox and using the wand transfiguration thing.  It will come up later again.  I said that Jared had his father's temper, so I thought it would be best to demonstrate it.  And I just had to find the right trigger to set him off.  Draco's always good for that purpose.

I think Jared might be a mama's boy (who could really blame him, if he is?)  Why throw in Casey?  I need to bring Hermione and Jared together that's why.  Eventually, Jared will just lose control again where she's concerned, and Ron may end up being at the receiving end of it.  There will be a chapter later on entitled, "His Father's Son."  It won't be for a while though.

I won't be able to update as often as I wished due to my new job with a summer camp.  I work with five and six year olds (some seven year olds, too), so they will be getting my attention and energy. 

kirikarin.livejournal.com

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.  This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission. 


	6. The Tree

Temporal Flux

Chapter Six: The Tree

Harry wondered what had happened to Hermione.  He was very worried because she had said that she would meet him in the common room, but she never showed up.  Later on, Ginny said that Hermione told her to tell him that she had gone to the library to study.  Harry wanted to know why she didn't tell him herself.  He glanced around Hogsmeade, hoping that she would still show.

Neville, Ginny, and Luna were with him.  Ginny was very disgruntled about Ron going out with Casey.  She had her own personal opinion of who her brother should be with.  "I can't believe he went out with the dumbest girl in Ravenclaw!" she exclaimed exasperated.  "I mean she's smart, but not that smart."

"I think we've got the two smartest people in the school in Gryffindor right now," agreed Neville.

"That's no reason to insult Cassandra," said Luna, but she really wasn't defending her.  "But, you're right.  I thought that Ronald liked Hermione."

Everyone stopped in their tracks.  Most of them knew that, but no one had really voiced it out loud.  Luna looked a bit taken back, making her eyes bug out even more.  "I thought that she wasn't here because Ronald went out with Cassandra."

Ginny bit her lip and glanced at Harry.  "Well, Luna's not in Ravenclaw for nothing," he muttered after a second or two.  "So, that's why Hermione didn't show up."

"We have to do something!" cried Ginny frantically.  "I don't like that Ravenclaw!  No offense, Luna."  She turned her head at her.

"None taken," Luna assured her.  "But there's nothing wrong with Cassandra really.  It's just not right though that Ron's going out with her."

"Hermione did seem very quiet during the whole thing," pointed out Neville.  "Harry, what are you going to do?"  All of them looked at Harry expectantly.  He looked at each of pair of eyes.

Harry shook his head, "Look, they're my best friends, but I don't know if I should get involved.  It's really up to them, isn't it?" 

"The Hell, it isn't just them?!" exclaimed Ginny angrily.  "My brother's being an idiot.  They're both being idiots!  He'd better do something before someone snatches her away or something."

"Calm down, Ginny," said Neville.  "Harry's right.  Ron and Hermione will have to work it out.  They've never really gone out together, have they?  I mean as a couple not as friends.  It's not like they're going to end up getting married or anything, you know?"

"Not at the rate that Ron is going!" retorted Ginny.  She glared at Harry then at Neville.  "You—you boys!  You're just going to standby and do nothing!  You're all so stupid!"  With that she stalked off, Luna barely glanced back at Harry before she followed after Ginny.

"Now, what are you going to do with that kind of logic?" Harry asked Neville.  "She's acting like it's our fault."

"Maybe, it is, Harry," said Neville bracingly.  "What about Hermione?"

Harry didn't respond.  He glanced back towards the direction of the castle, and he was suddenly worried about Hermione.  He thought of going back to the castle, but he also remembered that he promised to meet Ron a little later.  Swallowing, Harry faced Neville again, "Let's go to Honeydukes.  I'll get her something."  He suddenly remembered something important.

Ron was anxious because he had no idea what he was doing.  He didn't know why he had even agreed to meet with Casey in the first place.  He thought he was a bit underdressed.  His best clothes weren't that great, but they were all that he had.  Ron wondered why he was having such a hard time trying to come up with something to say, considering that one of his best friends was a girl.  Cassandra Levy was talking animatedly about something. 

It turned out that she was a big Quidditch fan who liked the Chaudley Cannons.  "If I were the coach, I'd start looking at the minors for better players or at least at schools all over Europe.  You know get 'em while their young.  I think you'd make a great keeper."

"Actually, I'm thinking of becoming an Auror," said Ron, feeling his cheeks turning red.  It was a great compliment.

"An Auror?" asked Casey.  "You mean those people who fight dark wizards?"  She looked amazed.  "I mean it takes a lot to become one."

"Yes, it does, but I made it into the classes that I needed."  Ron was getting the feeling that Casey only liked him for the fact that he played Quidditch.  He didn't know why it bothered him.  It just did.  "Are you on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team?"

"No, I'm not," answered Casey.  "I've never even tried out.  Everyone in Ravenclaw pretty much knows who's going to be on the team.  Cho already decided that.  She's team captain this year.  I guess she's going up against Harry Potter.  He's the team captain for your team, isn't he?"

Ron nodded, but he didn't like talking about Quidditch.  He had a feeling that Casey was trying to get information out of him.  Ravenclaw was defeated by Gryffindor the previous year for the cup.  Cho was probably still crying over that, while Harry felt indifferent towards her.  Ron had a feeling that Cho wasn't feeling so indifferent about Harry.  In fact, Ron had a feeling that Cho downright disliked Harry at this point.

Ron veneered the conversation away from Quidditch, "So, what else are you interested in?"  He didn't mean for his voice to come out the way that it did.  It sounded deep, almost husky.  The reaction from Casey was priceless.  She turned beet red as she stared at him for a moment.

How couldn't she?  Ron was leaning in a more relaxed position.  The top buttons of his shirt were open a little bit, revealing that he had more than just a little muscle.  It came from the Quidditch workouts as well as the practice against the Dark Arts.  His hands were finely shaped like a piano player's, but they were coarse in the fingertips.  He was also tall with his blue eyes and flaming red hair being his best features. 

"Can you hear me?" asked Ron as he leaned in a bit.  "What's wrong with you?  Don't you do anything else, but talk about Quidditch?"  He sounded rather sarcastic because he didn't know why she was staring at him.  He had no idea why anyone would be looking at him like that. 

Casey looked hurt as she bit her lip.  "I—I love to do fortune telling for fun.  Not anything like that horrid Divination professor.  I heard the rumors about her, so I never bothered to take it in school."

"I see," said Ron.  "I'm in Trelawney's class and I'll tell you those aren't just rumors.  Although, I don't know exactly who's better either her or Firenze.  They have their own way of teaching, but we alternate teachers."

"It must be fascinating to have a centaur as a teacher," said Casey admiringly, causing Ron to turn red in the ears. 

"Y-yeah…Hermione kind of wishes she had stuck in the class," he mumbled. 

Casey's eyes dimmed at the mention of Hermione.  She didn't like her one bit.  It was now Casey's turn to veneer the conversation elsewhere.  She heard the way that Cho ranted off about Harry talking about Hermione during their date.  Casey didn't think much of it at the time, but right now she downright detested the Gryffindor girl.

"So, today's your birthday?" asked Jared.  Of course, he knew that.  "Why didn't you go to Hogsmeade with everyone else?"

"I don't feel like celebrating.  I never really celebrated my birthday in Hogwarts, ever since the first year.  I didn't really have any friends until Halloween, and ever since then it didn't really matter to me whether or not anyone celebrated my birthday or not."

"My parents always make a big deal out of my birthday.  It's in August," revealed Jared as he looked skyward.  "You see my mother said that she really wanted to have a baby, but the doctors and healers said that it would be too dangerous for her.  My father decided all by himself not to have any kids to keep my mother alive, even though he came from a huge family.  I've got a truckload of cousins."

"So, how did you end up here?" asked Hermione, watching his recognizable body language.

"My mother sort of tricked my father into it," answered Jared as he turned his head with a slight smile.  "My father didn't take it very well when he found out what she had done, but he calmed down after my godfather talked to him.  My godfather's good friends with both of them.  It was a given that he'd be my godfather.  But, my father said he knew he loved me when he first saw me."

"That's the only love at first sight I believe in," admitted Hermione.  "So, your parents love you loads, don't they?"

"Yes, they do," agreed Jared.  "I'm an only child.  My dad said that it's okay.  He said he didn't want more children than he could stand.  And just between you and me, there are times where I think he can barely stand me, but my mother said it's 'cause I'm too much like him."

"You know what, Jared," started Hermione in a soft voice, "I like your name.  I like it a lot.  It's funny you know.  I like that name.  It's a little unusually, but that's one of the boys' names that I like.  And Blake is my mother's maiden name.  Funny, isn't it?"

Jared didn't look startled by her revelations.  It took his parents three weeks to name him, but that was just the way they were.  "Is there anything I could get you for your birthday?" he offered.

"You don't have to get me anything.  You don't know me that well," countered Hermione.

"Maybe, I could get a toy for Crookshanks," he went on, ignoring what she had said entirely.  "But that would be more of a present for him than it would be for you."

"I've been meaning to ask you about that.  Why are you so attached to my cat?  You said that you had a cat like Crookshanks."

"When I was younger," confirmed Jared.  "He was the baby monitor.  He'd go and get my parents whenever I cried.  He also knew when I was hungry or just wanted to be held, so he knew which one to get.  My mother always said that if I woke up afraid, only my father could calm me down.  The cat would walk around the bassinet when I was just born.  He caught a wind o' wasp from getting at me once.  Caught it with his paws."

Hermione looked a little alarmed.  "Those pixies can do a lot of damage, especially to a baby.  That's amazing."

"My father was prepared to vaporize it, but my mother made him let it go.  He always listens to her, even if he doesn't look like he does."  Jared was touching the blades of grass, running his fingertips over them.  "Did you really want anything for you birthday?" he asked again.

"I don't know," answered Hermione.  She glanced at his side profile, thinking about how handsome he was.  He was almost as handsome as Ron.

Ron really wasn't like his date at all just as much as she didn't like the mention of Hermione.  The conversation went astray.  They were deteriorating as the date went along.  Ron found her boring because all she did was agree with him.  It wasn't very stimulating at all.  Time crept by slower than usual it seemed.  He started to wonder where Harry was.  That was the reason why he told Harry to come up and see him, and he thought that Hermione would have been brought along.  Come to think of it, he hadn't seen her that day at all.

Casey was prattling on about something that Ron wasn't paying attention to.  He wasn't even giving her the courtesy of at least pretending he cared.  Casey was feeling more than just frustrated at Ron.  "You know what?" she asked him somewhat aggressively.

"What?" prompted Ron, hoping that she would shut up sooner or later.

"You're really just a bad date all around aren't you?  I should have listened to Padma on this one," concluded Casey icily.

"If you don't like me so much, then you can just leave," retorted Ron, feeling his temper rising.  His voice was already raised.  "What the bloody Hell is your problem?"

"Look at me!" spat Casey.  "I went all out for this date!  And all you could do is wear what you're wearing!"

Ron's mouth was open in utter insult.  For the first time he actually looked at what Casey was wearing.  Sure enough, it was the latest thing in the wizarding world of fashion.  Ron's clothes were outdated by at least a couple of years.  He had holes in his jeans.  He was seething through his teeth.  "Sorry, I didn't notice," he said sarcastically, knowing that would anger her more. 

Which is exactly what it did, Casey shouted, "You are the most stupid boy, I've ever meet.  I'll make sure that Ravenclaw takes you out for the cup this time around!  I should have known better than to go out with a poor Weasley.  This was a waste of time!"

"I would rather be poor than stuck up like you, Levy!" shouted Ron as he got to his feet.  His ears were bright red.  "I can't believe it.  You're the real waste!"

Harry and Neville had just arrived when they heard the yelling.  Neville winced at the way that Casey insulted Ron, while Harry watched stoically, holding a bag from Honeydukes and another package.  He waited until Casey stormed off without crying.  She shoved her way passed a couple of people and straight through Neville and Harry without a backward glance.

"Now, that's the second time Ron's gone out with a Ravenclaw, isn't it?" asked Neville in a whisper.  Harry just nodded as he stepped forward.

"Not a word, Harry," muttered Ron as he got to his feet, feeling very poor and dirty.  He sounded gruff and his confidence level had dropped.  "Let's just go back."

"Fine," agreed Harry, knowing that he couldn't really do much.  The only person who would be able to reassure Ron would be Hermione.  "Hermione's back in Hogwarts."

Ron stopped and turned to look at him.  "Why didn't she come with you?"

"I couldn't find her.  Ginny said that she went to the library to study," answered Harry.  "You know Hermione, she's been trying to keep up with Jared."

"Oh," muttered Ron.  He had almost forgotten about Jared.  "Didn't make it did he?"

"He probably wasn't allowed to come this time after that fight with Malfoy," explained Neville.  "Look, you should head back, but I said I'd meet Ginny and Luna, too.  We were all suppose to meet together at the Three Broomsticks, but if you want to go back, fine." 

"You can tell Ginny what happened," sighed Ron.  "I'd rather not repeat it."  He continued to walk ahead.  Harry nodded at Neville before catching up with him.  Neither of the boys talked about what really happened, but Harry had a feeling about it.

He heard the mention of Padma, recalling that Ron's date with her didn't go well either.  Harry kept his mouth shut about mentioning Hermione.  He knew it wasn't a good time to bring it up.  Harry was starting to wonder what Hermione was up to.

Hermione was laughing.  It was a sound that Jared knew all too well.  It was one of his favorite sounds, but he liked it much better when it was with Ron.  She was actually laughing at the fact that Jared was climbing a tree to retrieve a kite.  He had brought it out and they had spent the last hour running with it.

Everything was going so well until the kite got stick in the tree.  Jared made it with tissue paper, using a design that his grandfather taught him.  It had gotten stuck in one of the tall willow trees.  He had to climb up the tree, which he did with ease because he had had lots of practice.  At first Hermione was worried about him falling down and breaking something, but now he was just sitting on a strong branch, looking down at her.

"You could have just used your wand to get it down," shouted Hermione with a grin on her face.

"Where would be the fun in that?" shouted back Jared as he looked around from the branch.  "Looks really nice up here.  You should get up here."

"I don't think so!" exclaimed Hermione.

"Don't think you can get up, do you?" teased Jared playfully.

"It's not that—"

"But you're afraid of heights, aren't you?"

Hermione shook her head and started laughing again.  "You're unbelievable you know that.  You fly kites and climb trees.  Is there anything you can't do?"

"Not really," responded Jared smugly.  "My parents said that I could do anything I want as long as it isn't immoral or gets me arrested.  My father said that I may have my own body, but he's responsible for it until I'm legal.  And even then he's a little worried about the horror he's unleashing upon the world."

"Somehow I don't think you listen to your parents very well," agreed Hermione as she continued to grin at his words. 

"That's true.  My godfather once told them that they don't have any hope of controlling me.  They can only hope to contain me."

By this time, Ron and Harry were back in their dorm.  They both noticed that Jared's curtains were drawn.  Harry handed some of the candy from Honeydukes to Ron.  It included an assortment of sugar quills, chocolate frogs, and Botts' Every Flavor Jelly Beans, which Ron put into his trunk.  Just as Harry walked by one of the stands, he saw from the window something that made him laugh out loud.

"What?" demanded Ron, not really in the mood for anything.

"Jared's up in a tree by the lake," answered Harry.  He looked closer when he saw the back of Hermione's head.  Harry kind of stiffened because he had a very bad feeling about telling Ron about that part.  He didn't get a chance to.  Ron was already standing beside him, "What kind of idiotic thing is he up to now?  Hermione!  What's she doing with him?!"

Harry didn't bother to tell Ron to calm down.  He could only follow Ron as he ran down the stairs and tore through the rest of the castle, trying to get the lake and the tree.  Harry was able to keep up.  They were both out of breath by the time they had gotten to the lake.

Hermione turned her head.  The smile on her face was wide, which was something that hardly anyone had seen in a while.  Ron completely ignored that as he stalked up to her.  "What are you doing with him?" he asked sharply as he jerked his thumb upwards at the tree.

"Nothing," answered Hermione, immediately disliking the accusing tone that he was using.  "We were just talking then we were flying a kite that he brought.  Jared had to climb up the tree to get it down when we got it stuck up there."

"Get the Hell down here!" roared Ron, causing Jared to flinch.  He really hated it when Ron used that tone on him.  "NOW!"

"I don't think so.  I think I'll stay up here for a while.  I don't think it's safe for me to come down," said Jared quietly, knowing better than to comply with Ron.

"Ron stop yelling," snapped Hermione.  "Why are you so mad?  Why aren't you in Hogsmeade with Casey?"

Jared felt his throat get stuck at her words.  His skin had gone pale when he saw the look on Ron's face.  Ron jerked his head away from Jared to face Hermione.  She had her hands on her hips, her battle stance.  Ignoring her question entirely, Ron started yelling at again, "YOU ALWAYS TAKES SOMEONE ELSE'S SIDE!  WHY DO YOU DO THAT?!"

"I'm not on anyone else's side.  Why do you always get jealous when I spend time with someone else?  What do you expect me to do?  Just be on standby until you want something from me?!  You always come after me when I have one foot out the door.  Why is that?" retorted Hermione angrily, stunning Ron completely.  Tears of anger were pouring from her eyes, which she furiously rubbed way with her fists.  Without anything else to say, Hermione walked passed Ron, then Harry, making a path back to the castle. 

Ron was stood still.  He was stunned by her words, but more by her tears.  He completely forgot about Jared altogether.  Jared was absolutely torn between them.  He clutched the kite between his fingers, tightly.  Harry stepped forward a little bit, but didn't say a word.  He looked upwards at Jared, but he didn't feel any anger towards him. 

"Ron, are you all right?" ventured Harry in a soft voice.

"Oh," whispered Ron, much more subdued.  "I have to go and change out of these clothes.  I wouldn't want to ruin them."  He pivoted on his heel and walked off in a direction that pulled him further from the castle. 

Harry sighed as he looked at Jared again who was climbing down the tree.  He had thrown down the kite just before his feet touch the ground.  Harry picked up the kite for him and handed it back to him.  "Thanks," whispered Jared.

"I was wondering about something," said Harry softly.  He was about to have a nearly identical conversation like the one he had with Viktor Krum.  "I need to talk to you."

Jared dusted off one of his hands on his shirt.  His clothes were dirty, but much newer than anything Ron wore.  "It's none of my business," he immediately said.  Jared didn't know which one he disliked more Ron raising his voice in anger towards him or the quiet way Harry had of getting to him.  He was ready to walk off.  He really was, but he stopped himself.  "What is it?" he muttered.

"What's going on between you and Hermione?" asked Harry.  "You seem to be very interested in her."

Jared paused and held his breath.  Harry stared at him, into his bottomless brown eyes.  He listened to Jared breath for a second before he went on, "I don't see why you're provoking Ron like that.  Or why your provoking Hermione like that in class.  Why are you doing it?"

"I'm not trying to provoke anyone, Un—Harry," spat Jared, just barely making a mistake.  He closed his eyes for a moment.  He had to get out of there before he really did something stupid.  When he tried, Harry stepped in his path.  He was taller than Harry currently, but he knew better than to try to get passed him.  "Please get out of my way."

"No," responded Harry forcefully.  "If you're not trying to provoke anyone, then what are you doing with Hermione.  What is going on between the two of you?"

Jared wanted to say that they were just friends, but that wasn't the truth.  He felt something tugging at his consciousness.  He stepped back from Harry, remembering something.  Harry trained over the summer in Occlumency, even though he spent almost no time with his friends.  However, Harry also was trained in Legilimency as part of the effort to keep his mind clear from Voldemort's intrusions.  Harry's connection to Voldemort also gave him the near ability to read someone without reciting the incantations. 

There was only one way that Jared could get passed Harry at that point, so he took it, "I love her," he whispered.  Harry's eyes widened with surprise, stunning him effectively and giving Jared the escape route he needed.  However, he could not help but add as he continue towards the castle, which he said loud enough without turning, "But how I love her, you'll have to figure that out."

Harry stood still blinking and listening around him.  By the time he had turned around, Jared was already out of sight.  Harry shook his head, trying to figure out who he should go after.  He stared at the tree.  It was the same one he had seen when he looked into the Pensieve when it contained Snape's memories.  It was the same tree that his father and friends had gathered under.  Touching the trees with his fingers, Harry wondered just how many lovers' spats and quarrels did this tree bear witness to.

* * *

AN: I've taken a real liking to Neville since the fifth book, so he's getting some choice lines.  And I didn't want to keep him as a loner, so he's going to be hanging out with Ginny and Luna for most of the story.  I love irony.  It's one of my favorite devices along with cliffhangers, but I love irony the best.  I don't use the word "love" that often either, so that should be saying a lot.  And it looks like the mere mention of Hermione's name is enough to turn a date with a Ravenclaw south.

Ron's pretty smart, even though he doesn't get much credit for it.  I mean he gets overshadowed by his best friends.  Harry has a tendency to work best under pressure, so that's when his most brilliant ideas come about.  Hermione is always studying, so that's how she's pretty smart.  I think Ron goes by instinct even more.  Jared has inherited this ability as well as the book smarts. 

There's an Oedipal complex going through this thing, isn't there?  Ron and Jared seem to be fighting over Hermione.  Jared maybe able to beat Hermione in academics, but there are things that he simply cannot beat Ron at.  Jared is just causing conflict between Ron and Hermione, accidentally though.

Sorry about the delays.  My old computer ran into some trouble and I've been busy working for the summer.  I sprained my ankle at work, and I really don't want to go into the details.  The new computer is a dream come true, but at a hefty 

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.  This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission. 


	7. Dumbledore's Office

Temporal Flux

Chapter Seven: Dumbledore's Office

Ginny and Neville returned several hours later, close to sundown with the other students.  By that time, Ron was brooding in the boys' dorm.  Jared was sitting in Hermione's designated chair, while she was in the library.  Harry was sitting by himself in front of the Ron's chess board, pondering about what Jared had said earlier.  He knew for sure that he wasn't about to tell Ron what Jared had told him. 

Ron hadn't really done anything to Jared, but it was only a matter of time.  Harry was on Ron's side, yet at the same time he didn't want anything to happen Jared.  For right now, it was better that all three were separated.  Ron had left his chess set out, so Harry was just setting them up.  The chess pieces were getting antsy, glancing up expectantly at Harry to get the game going.

"Do you mind if I enjoy?" offered Jared as he shifted to look at Harry.

"Sure," answered Harry.  Jared got to his feet and took the chair across from him.  "Do you know how to play?"

"Yes," replied Jared. 

Ginny came up just then and asked, "What's going on?  Where's Ron and Hermione?  What happened on Ron's date?"

"Actually, I kind of want to know myself," said Jared, looking expectantly at Harry.  "I mean it might explain why he got so pissed with me just talking to Hermione."

Harry glanced at Ginny then at Jared.  It seemed like the chess pieces wanted to know, too.  He sighed and gave a brief summary of what happened on Ron's date with Casey.  Ginny was livid, while Jared was grinning.  "I can't believe how stuck up that little—ooh, just wait until I get my hands on her!" exclaimed Ginny. 

"She's not worth it," said Jared.  "She wasn't even worth the date." 

"And why are you spending so much time with Hermione?" demanded Ginny as she glared at him. 

"Why can't I spend time with her?" countered Jared cleverly.  Ginny clutched her jaw and wore the look she often did when she attempted to discipline him.  It was an expression close to his grandmother's.  Jared assumed the look that Weasley boys' often wore when they wanted to look innocent; it was something he had picked up from his uncles.  Not that it ever really worked.  It sure wasn't working right now.  "I mean it's her business who she wants to spend time with.  Ron doesn't have the monopoly on that, does he?"

"What do you have against my brother?" challenged Ginny as she slammed her hands palms down on the table, startling Ron's chess pieces. 

"I've got nothing against him," answered Jared automatically.  "I like him just as much as I like Hermione."

Ginny turned her head at Harry for some assistance because Jared was absolutely confounding her.  Harry stared at Jared, if what he said about Hermione was true; did that mean that Jared loved Ron, too?  That didn't make any sense at all.  Or did it?  Harry would have said more, but he felt a sudden sharp, burning pain in his skull.

He groaned as his hands automatically flew to his scar.  He was heaving, gasping for air.  Jared was on his feet.  "Harry!  Are you all right?" he asked.  "What's wrong?  What's going on?  Ginny?" Jared turned to her and saw that she had gone pale. 

"Harry?  Can you hear me?" asked Ginny as she placed her hand on Harry's shoulder.  "Calm down.  Block it.  Block it.  Jared, go and get Professor McGonagall.  Now!"  She shouted the last part because Jared seemed froze in place.  He blinked then made a dash for the portrait. 

"No…don't," moaned Harry, trying to control his breathing.  He was focusing on blocking this intrusion into his mind.  He had to fight it.  He didn't want Dumbledore to find out.  He concentrated, trying to keep himself calm and ease the pain that was penetrating through his head.  It was much stronger than it had ever been.  Before Harry would have allowed himself to see the visions, but not now.  It was too dangerous.  He knew how dangerous they were.  It cost Sirius' life.  Harry collapsed, succumbing to the darkness.

Jared knew that they were trying not to talk in front of him.  He considered the three of them a trio.  An old man, a spy, and a priest.  Jared had gone to get Dumbledore as Ginny had ordered him, too, and Snape and De Luca joined him.  It was the DADA professor who had given him entry into the Headmaster's office.  Jared was holding his breath, knowing that it didn't look too good for him.  Snape was probably telling the other two that he was dangerous to Harry.  Jared had the unfortunate luck of being present when Harry collapsed, and it wasn't his doing at all. 

Ginny had gone to get Ron as soon as Harry was helped into the infirmary, and together they had gone and fetched Hermione from the library.  That much Jared knew.  He cursed himself for not reading this in the diary ahead of time.  He should have known that Harry was going to get attacked.  Even in Hogwarts, Voldemort had a way of getting in.  Not that Jared was afraid of the man or even the name.  It took a long time before anyone could say Voldemort's name in a sentence.  Maybe it was better that Jared didn't know, it would have looked more suspicious otherwise.

Jared was sitting across from Dumbledore's desk, while the Headmaster was conversing with De Luca and Snape.  After another five minutes of heated whispering, Snape stalked off with De Luca following closely behind.  Jared swallowed, feeling his throat constrict as the Headmaster swept up to him.  Jared had read _Hogwarts: A History_ numerous times.  In the revised edition that he had practically memorized, Dumbledore had a whole chapter devoted to him, but still Jared had a feeling that the chapter left out a lot of things.

"Headmaster," stated Jared without looking at him.

Dumbledore took a seat at his chair.  "Would you like a lemon drop, Jared?" he offered, his blue eyes sparkling.  "I suspect that you have a sweet tooth."

That was true.  Jared loved sweets.  He took one drop, but didn't put it in his mouth.  "Thank you, Professor Dumbledore," he whispered.

The Headmaster leaned back against his chair, his eyes never leaving Jared's face.  "You are a very gifted student, Jared.  Very gifted indeed.  Your parents must be very impressed with you."

Jared didn't like where this conversation was heading, so he decided to take a different route.  He had a way of disarming people.  He did it very often with his parents and family.  There was very few people who were immune to his tactics.  "Whatever do you mean?" he asked innocently, almost batting his eyelashes for effect.

"Blake is your maternal grandmother's name, isn't it?" asked Dumbledore.  Jared remained calm, his expression never wavering.  "You do have your mother's eyes much like how Harry Potter has his mother's eyes.  However, judging from the report from Professor McGonagall regarding your fight with Draco Malfoy earlier, you seem to have inherited your father's temper.  Now the real question is not who you are, but why you are here?"

"How did you figure it out?" asked Jared, very impressed and elated that the history books weren't lying.

"Through keen observation of your activities.  That and Professor De Luca has his ways of figuring things out," replied Dumbledore.  "He was right to trust you.  You aren't here to harm anyone, but why are you here?"

"I can't say," answered Jared.  "Please don't force me to give you an answer."

The Headmaster stared into his eyes with a soft smile on his lips.  "I must say that I am surprised at how well Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger's son will turn out.  You are a credit to both of them.  However, I cannot have you running around my school causing problems between my students."

Jared pulled at the chain around his neck.  It was in the shape of an hour glass, but rather than holding sand, it held a clear blue liquid inside.  "This is an advance time turner.  It was original developed by my mother," he explained.  "It works a bit differently.  Combined with a spell, it keeps a person in a different time for as long as they wish.  The spell will hold as long as I don't flip it over.  My parents didn't want to send me back, so I went on my own."

"A disobedient Weasley?  As if I have never heard of one before," joked Professor Dumbledore.  He sighed.  "Do you have any intention of telling your parents?"

"Would they believe me?" laughed Jared.  "I don't think either of them like me right now, especially my father.  He was yelling at me today."

Dumbledore shook his head with a chuckle, "There is very little I can do if it is a family issue for you.  Just do not fight with anymore people in the halls."

"In my defense, Malfoy insulted my mother."

"No more, Jared.  I am sure that you are aware that your mother can fight her own battles," insisted the Headmaster.  "If you require any assistance from me, please say so."

"There is one thing I just have to know.  What did you tell De Luca and Snape?"

"What are you really doing here?"

Jared clamped his mouth shut at that question because he didn't really want to give any information.  It was bad enough that people were on to him.  He found Dumbledore's eyes unreadable, but didn't venture to ask again.  They had a silent agreement.  So, Jared sighed and instead asked, "May I leave now?  I have detention with Professor De Luca in a little while."

"Very well, but remember I will be keeping an eye on you," Dumbledore reminded him.  "I'm sure you won't have any trouble finding your way back to Gryffindor Tower."

"No," agreed Jared.  "And I would have never had a problem finding this office."  He got to his feet and let himself out, while Dumbledore got to his feet.  He reached towards Fawkes and gently stroked his feathers. 

"Did you notice anything about him, Fawkes?" asked Dumbledore to his familiar.  Fawkes gave a melodious noise.  "I don't know what he's up to either.  He's very well trained."  Dumbledore found it difficult to read Jared because he had successfully blocked him.  It was most intriguing. 

When Jared got out of the office, he walked towards the infirmary instead of Gryffindor Tower.  He stopped just sort of the corner when he saw Ron and Hermione coming out.  They were talking in hushed tones.

"I forgot that it's your birthday today," said Ron.  "Um…I'm sorry.  I didn't get you anything."

"It's all right," said Hermione.  "We never really celebrate it anyway."

"Harry got you something, but I think he wants to give it you later.  I wish I could have gotten you something," explained Ron, looking rather sheepish. 

"Let's worry more about Harry," said Hermione, not wanting to talk anymore about her birthday.

"What do you think happened to him?" asked Ron.  "I was in our room at the time.  Ginny just went and got me.  Jared went and got Dumbledore because Ginny told him to.  He and Harry were at the chessboard."

Hermione bit her lip.  Jared knew it was a sign that something was troubling her and once again he had a feeling that the conversation wasn't going in his favor.  She pulled a lock of her hair behind her ear.  "What is it?" asked Ron.

"Don't you think there's something weird about Jared?" asked Hermione with a sigh.  Ron raised his eyebrow at him.  It was something that Jared had unconsciously done earlier, causing Hermione to do a double take as she looked at Ron.  "There's something strangely familiar about him, don't you think?"

"I try not to look at him really.  He really irritates me, Hermione," confessed Ron.  "I had no idea that anyone could be that obnoxious."

Hermione laughed at his words as she shook her head.  "I know someone who's just as annoying," she laughed.

"Are you comparing me again to him?  I'm nothing like him!" exclaimed Ron loudly; realizing that was too loud, he repeated in a softer voice, "I am not like him."

Hermione shook her head.  "There are times where he's exactly like you."

"What about in class?" asked Ron.  "What about with you?  He's like you, not me."

"He's more like you than he's like me," insisted Hermione.

Jared was having a difficult time holding in his laughter.  It wasn't the first time his parents had that argument, but it was the first time they had ever had it without realizing it.  He was nearly choking on his laughter, and he was about to leave.  "Hey, what are you doing here?" demanded Ron angrily.  His ears were red.  "Are you eavesdropping?" 

"No," replied Jared automatically, wearing his innocent look again.  "Actually, I just wanted to know if Harry was all right."

"He's fine.  Madame Pomfrey just wants to keep him overnight," Hermione informed him.  She placed her hand on Ron's wrist to keep him from doing anything.  She was doing it without thinking.  Jared looked pointedly at her.  She gave him a puzzling look before she glanced down and noticed what she was doing.  Ron was staring at her as she released him suddenly.  Jared had a grin on his face as they reddened in front of him.  Hermione cleared her throat and said, "Why don't we head back?  Jared has to go with us because he might get detention if he gets caught and we have our prefect badges to keep us safe."

Ron shoved his way passed Jared, "What the Hell are you smiling about?"

"Nothing," answered Jared.  Hermione wore an exasperated expression, not knowing who she should throw it towards.  She and Jared just followed closely behind him.  From around the corner of the corridor that Jared just came out of, Professor De Luca shook his head and smiled because someone had completely forgotten his detention.

Jared woke up with a start the following morning.  He realized that it was Sunday, but realized that he never showed up for detention.  _Damn it!_, he thought frantically as he climbed out of bed.  He nearly fell out of bed and opened his trunk.  He grabbed his toiletry kit and made a dash to the bathroom.  He dumped almost everything into his trunk and was only half dressed on his way out of the door.

Hermione was just coming out of the girls' side when she saw Jared practically sliding down the side of the stairs.  He was trying his shirt over his head, his stomach was exposed.  Many people told him he was built like his father, but Hermione never saw Ron without a shirt before.  And she wouldn't until the next summer or so.  She had no idea that Jared's slender, muscular structure was almost exactly like Ron's.  She blushed at him as he tried to pull his shirt over his head, but he ended up stuck.  "Ah!" he exclaimed, struggling with his shirt.  The sleeves seemed tangled.

Hermione shook her head as she went downstairs.  She held her giggling in as she asked jokingly, "Do you need some help?  Didn't your parents teach you how to dress yourself?"  She assisted him and pulled the bottom edge over Jared's stomach.  He smoothed out his shirt, she noticed a chain around his neck, but didn't think much of it.  His hair was sticking up in one side.  Hermione resisted the impulse to smooth it out, even though it was very tempting.  Instead she asked, "Why are you in such a hurry on a Sunday morning?"

"For you information, I could have dressed myself.  Yes, my mother taught me how to dress myself.  And for your last question, I forgot I had detention last night.  I have two weeks of it.  I have to go and talk to Professor De Luca before he gives me more detention and hopefully explain to him why I forgot," Jared said it in a very rushed voice, but at the same time he sounded almost bossy.  "Now, I have to go."

"Good luck," called Hermione after him impulsively.

"Thanks," said Jared as he left.  Hermione sighed as she shook her head.  Are all boys like either Ron or Jared?  She wondered.  If that was true, then she was really worried.  She felt tired because she was between the both of them.  She sat in her chair, noticing that someone had left something on it. 

Hermione picked it up and saw a short note with it.  The smile on her face grew as she read it:

_Sorry about almost forgetting your birthday.  Sorry about it being late, too.  I know that you said you really didn't want anything.  I wish I could have gotten you something better, but this will have to do.  _

_Ron_

She unwrapped the plain paper, wondering when Ron got it because he had come back from Hogsmeade empty handed.  It was a small jewelry box that was just the size of her palm.  She opened it and found that it was empty, but it was a beautifully crafted.  There was an intricate design on it, representing the rune symbols she was studying in her class. 

What she didn't know was that Ron had picked it up in Diagon Alley weeks before school began.  Ron just didn't want to hand to her in person and with anyone around.  He had dropped it off on the chair after everyone else had gone to sleep in the early morning hours.  He had taken the chance of Jared finding it first.  Ron also didn't want anyone else to see the small jewelry box he really could only afford.  It suited Hermione fine because she hardly ever wore jewelry, except for special occasions.  The last time she wore piece of jewelry for a long period of time was the Time Turner.

She didn't throw the note away.  Instead, she folded it and placed it inside the jewelry box.  She went back upstairs to put it in her trunk.  Harry still hadn't had a chance to give Hermione the candy he had picked up for her favorite candy from Honeydukes.  None of the other girls stirred when she put the jewelry box in her trunk, next to her diary.  Realizing that she hadn't written yesterday's entry, she picked it up and grabbed her quill.

Jared still had not had a chance to check her diary in the last few days.  If he had, the entry would have read like this:

_I haven't really written yet about the new boy, Jared Blake.  He says he's from __Los Angeles__, but I'm not so sure about that.  He is the strangest person I've ever met.  It's like he knows me or something.  At first, he got on my nerves, but whenever I look at him—I can't help but think that there's something special about him.  He really knows how to get to Ron._

_It's funny.  Really funny.  Ron and Jared have so much in common.  They have the same gestures.  They both make sarcastic remarks and they have the same temper.  It's exhausting trying to keep them from hurting each other, especially keeping Ron from hurting Jared.  I know that Ron doesn't trust him, but I do.  I can't explain why though.  I just do.  I feel comfortable with Jared, like we have a bond together and that's why he knows me so well._

Hermione stopped because she could hear Lavender or Parvati waking up.  She closed her diary and returned it to her trunk.  By the time her roommates were up, she was just brushing her hair.  Hermione didn't like to take much care in her appearance normally, but she was trying to appear as if she hadn't run into Jared and gotten Ron's present.  It was like the two situations were connected together.

She was in deep thought when Ginny tapped her shoulder.  She gasped.  "I'm sorry," said Ginny, equally startled by Hermione's reaction.

"It's okay."

"Ron's waiting for you.  He wants to go and see if Harry's all right."

"I'll be there."

Ginny was giving her a smile similar to Jared's.  "What?" demanded Hermione.

"You were getting ready for Ron, weren't you?" teased the younger girl. 

Hermione's cheeks immediately went rosy.  "No!" she said defensively.  "I was not.  I was just brushing my hair.  That's all."

"You don't really like brushing your hair," insisted Ginny.  Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes at her, deciding that it was better to ignoring Ginny for the time being.  Honestly, Hermione was starting to think that Fred and George were bad influences on her.  "Hey!  Don't ignore me!" shouted Ginny after Hermione.

Hermione came down and saw that Ron was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs.  He had his hands in his pockets, looking up at her expectantly.  "What took you so long?"

"She was brushing her hair," answered Ginny for her.  Hermione looked back at her with a glare, causing Ginny only to grin at her again.  Hermione turned back at Ron and rolled her eyes.  "I'll see you two later," added Ginny.

"Aren't you coming along?" asked her brother.

"Nope.  Just the two of you," answered Ginny with some satisfaction.  "I also have to meet with my study group."  She practically skipped the last two steps of the stairs, grinning like the Cheshire cat.  Hermione yanked Ron's arm and dragged him out of the common room.  This was no easy feat, but she managed to get him through the portrait.

"What was she talking about?" asked Ron utterly clueless.

He looked absolutely irresistible at that moment.  His hair was ruffled a bit, too.  Hermione shook her head.  "She was just babbling.  You know how your sister is," she explained lamely without looking at him.

"Oh," murmured Ron, noticing the way she was avoiding his eyes.  "You know that date I had with Casey?"

"How did it go?"

"Not so well.  I just don't have any luck with girls it seems.  Except for you that is."

Hermione swallowed hard, but she had the compulsion to say something to make Ron feel better.  She just wished he had more confidence in himself.  "You will someday," she attempted to reassure him.

"I don't think so.  I mean look at Harry.  He's got money, naturally good at Quidditch—"

"Money isn't everything, Ron," interrupted Hermione sharply as she faced him.  "So, what if he's good at Quidditch?  So are you.  Stop comparing yourself to Harry or anyone else.  Your brothers aren't better than you either.  I wish you'd just see that for yourself."

Ron gaped at her, thinking that his ears were playing tricks on him.  Hermione turned a little rosy again and looked away from him.  This was the way their conversations went.  They either argued over something stupid or were telling each other things that the other one wanted to hear.  In front of other people, they argued.  Hardly anyone ever saw them talk to each other like that. 

"You're a good friend, Hermione," concluded Ron softly without taking his eyes off her.

"Yeah.  A good friend," echoed Hermione, feeling more upset and mildly hurt at his statement.  A friend.  Just a friend.  Of course.  That was all she really was to him.  That's why it took him so long to notice that she was a girl. 

"Let's go see if Harry's all right," said Ron because they had stopped walking completely.  "Are you all right, Hermione?"  His voice sounded anxious after another minute of silence.  "Did you like the present I got you?  I know that it wasn't much, but—"

"I love it," Hermione said in a whisper without looking at him as they continued in silence.

* * *

AN: A very bad explanation for Jared's time turner, isn't it?  It works for me.    As for the wrist grabbing, that was definitely an allusion to the movie.  I think that's so cute, okay?  And this whole chapter is just filled with Ron and Hermione moments.  The end part is left open for interpretation.  Did Hermione really mean that she love the present or someone else? Actually, Jared's just one big moment in their lives.

Still haven't decided who among the students should catch Jared first.  That's not really true.  I had time to write the story over the break without the new computer, so yes I know who finds out first. 

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.  This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.  


	8. Busted

Temporal Flux

Chapter Eight: Busted

"I'm glad you got a good night's sleep, Jared," said Professor De Luca mildly. "I was up early this morning because it's Sunday. If I had been in my previous station, I would have had to do the mass at dawn. However, I had to settle for meditation."

Jared was trying to keep himself from moving about. "You were the one who figured out where, or rather when, I came from. How did you do it?"

"I have a sneakoscope that is set to vibrate. I also have the ability to sense evil, but I didn't sense it from you," replied De Luca smoothly. "Also, I took off the spell you placed on your transcripts."

"I'm not really that impressed, Professor," said Jared sarcastically.

De Luca smiled at him gently, touching his fingertips together. "Regardless of what you're really doing here, you missed your detention yesterday, considering what happened yesterday I am willing to allow you to make it up today. You will be here for a while."

"What do you want me to do?" asked Jared, now visibly nervous.

"You'll be helping me set up for the next class," replied De Luca as he got to his feet. "Come now, it won't hurt much."

Jared eyed him suspiciously with a raised eyebrow. "It won't hurt?"

De Luca nodded. "I think you can handle it. You are made from hardy stock after all." He placed his hand on Jared's shoulder to steer him out of his office. "What are you going to make me do?" asked Jared in a strained voice.

Harry stirred, slowly waking from his slumber. He was sort of glad that he was able to block Voldemort's latest intrusion. Madame Pomfrey gave him a dreamless sleeping potion as ordered by Dumbledore. Harry hadn't really converse with the Headmaster in months ever since their last meeting after Sirius died. What he didn't know was that the Headmaster visited during the evening to check up on him.

He was just waking up when he heard Ron and Hermione walking. "Good morning, Harry," greeted Ron.

"How are you feeling?" asked Hermione tentatively keeping her distance from Ron.

"Better," answered Harry. "I'm just glad I didn't see anything this time."

"Did you have these episodes over the summer?" asked Hermione.

"I was able to block them, but this one was too strong," answered Harry, looking up at the ceiling rather than at them. He sighed. "I didn't see anything all summer, but it was like he wanted me to see something for sure this time."

"You don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to," said Ron immediately, while throwing a look at Hermione to stop her from arguing with him. "We understand. But if you want to, then you can."

"I spent most of the summer working on figuring out ways to beat Voldemort," whispered Harry. Ron made a noise that signaled his dislike of Harry's open usage of the name. "I also had to make sure that I blocked him from manipulating me again. He exploited it. That's how Sirius died. I was so reckless. It's my fault."

"It's Voldemort's fault," insisted Hermione in a firm voice. "Not yours. He's the one killing all those innocent people. He's the one responsible for it. Not you."

"Sirius knew the risk he was taking. He wouldn't want you to blame yourself for it," added Ron in a soft voice.

"I swear if I ever become a godfather to anyone's kid, I'll make sure that I don't do anything that stupid," muttered Harry angrily. He didn't know why he said it. He was angry at himself, at Sirius, and more importantly at the whole thing. He was even angry at Ron and Hermione for not seeing each other clearly enough. How could two people who were relatively smart be so blind and stupid?

"Well, if I have a kid, you'd be my first choice anyway," offered Ron with a playful grin. "Not that I have a shot of having a kid anyway."

"Don't say that," said Hermione. "You might have a child one day. Of course, I fear for the world if you do. I mean I can't imagine anyone else like you walking around."

"What's that suppose to mean?" demanded Ron defensively.

"You heard me."

"What about you, Hermione?" interrupted Harry. "If you had a kid, would I be your first choice? Or would you pick, Ron?" The boys stared at her, waiting for an answer.

"I don't know," replied Hermione. "But right now, you're at the top of my list."

"That's just unfair," complained Ron. "You'd pick Harry over me?"

"Yeah, I'd rather have him as the godfather of my child than you," answered Hermione truthfully. "Because he's more responsible than you and you'd probably be a bad influence over my child anyway."

"I bet your kid would be studying all the time and would probably never have any fun."

"I bet your child would have a temper and pull pranks on innocent people."

"I don't pull pranks. Fred and George do that. Not me."

"You are genetically inclined for it."

"I don't even know what that means."

Harry started chuckling at them. He didn't want to say that this hypothetical child of Hermione's would probably be Ron's child as well. They glared at him. "Trust me, any child either of you produce will probably be weird," he told them. They gave him a stunned looked, but after a moment joined his laughter because it was too soon to be talking about children.

Harry made a promise to himself that if they were ever going to have a child, he would be the best godfather. He would do Sirius proud. He would anything to keep this child safe, even if it meant not being there. What he didn't know was that later on, this child would help heal some of his wounds.

Jared couldn't believe what De Luca had planned for the next class. After two weeks of Dark Arts history, De Luca had spent one week discussing the implications of wizarding conflict on the Muggle world. It was all very fascinating, but what De Luca was planning next was going to be difficult.

It was survival training. De Luca was going to force the students to figure out how to survey if they don't have wands or spells to protect them. Or if magic cannot be used. It was going to be a crash course in Muggle Studies combined with martial arts training. They were going to do a campout in the weekend after next. De Luca wasn't even Muggle born. He was a pureblood but with unusual training.

Jared's own DADA professor wouldn't have come up with something like this, and his professor was unorthodox. Jared did have some martial arts training, having taken some classes when he was younger. His grandparents gave the lessons as a gift; his paternal grandmother was uneasy about him taking the classes.

"You can't be serious," muttered Jared as he looked around at the set up that Hagrid and De Luca devised. "This is just insane."

"It will only be for three days," said De Luca calmly.

"This is still madness," insisted Jared as he waved his hands around the clearing. "You're going to make them spend the night this close to the Forbidden Forest?"

"This is a survival training exercise. It's educational," answered De Luca.

"It's bloody stupid," muttered Jared, almost slipping into his natural voice. "But fine. Whatever. What do you want me to do?"

"I need you to do a dry test run of the obstacle course," replied De Luca. "Actually, I need you to run it twice. Once without your wand and the second time with your wand." He held out his hand, and Jared sighed as he gave him a questioning look before surrendering it. "I'll time you for both. I just want to see if this course will do anything to you."

"What?!"

"The clock's ticking. I'd go if I were you."

Jared shook his head and swore under his breath before he took off his outer robes and went into the obstacle course. He stupidly charged into the unknown.

Harry was given a clean bill of health before he was allowed to leave with Ron and Hermione. The Trio went off for a late breakfast. One could suppose that it could be considered brunch by American standards. Harry had his appetite back and they had ceased talking about future children and godchildren. Ron and Hermione were more or less back to normally.

From across the table, Harry could see the dirty looks that Casey Levy was throwing towards Ron. Interestingly, she was sitting next to Cho Chang and Michael Corner. Relations with the Ravenclaws haven't been all that great lately. Everyone was siding with their own houses. After Casey's display the previous day, the Ravenclaws were tense, except for Luna who had invited herself to their table.

"Would you mind passing the pitcher of pumpkin juice, Harry?" asked Luna, unfazed by the glaring looks from her housemates who were probably irritated at her for sitting with the Gryffindors. Harry passed her the pitcher.

Ginny was nearly finished with breakfast by the time that her brother and his friends showed up. "I wonder where Jared is," she said out loud.

"He accidentally forgot about his detention with Professor De Luca, so he went to go see him early this morning," said Hermione as she cut her slice of ham with her fork.

"How do you know that?" asked Ron accusingly.

"I saw him come down the stairs when I was in the common room this morning," answered Hermione. "He was in a real rush, too."

Before Ron could say anything else, someone was staggering inside. It was Jared. He looked like someone or something awful had gotten a hold of him. He was pulling bits of twigs and leaves out of his shirt and there was a leaf in his hair. He plopped down next to Harry, across from Ron. "Pumpkin juice," he barely breathed. He was completely out of breath.

"What happened to you?" asked Harry as he poured a glass of pumpkin juice for him.

"De Luca," answered Jared as he took a long swig of the juice, draining the goblet.

"What did he do to you?" asked Hermione with genuine concern, which Ron snorted his dislike at her. Ignoring him, she asked again when she noticed that Jared wasn't responding, "Jared? Are you all right?"

Jared gave a nod. He was about to say he was all right, but he didn't trust himself to speak. He would either drop his accent or call Hermione by the title he knew her as. Ron was now chuckling at him, which Jared was too tired to care about. Hermione gave him a look of daggers. "You could show some compassion, Ron. Why are you laughing?'

"He looks so funny. He's got that leaf in his hair. It looks like an antenna," laughed Ron.

Jared narrowed his eyes at Ron, but made no move to remove the leaf. He definitely wasn't in the mood for any jokes. Ron's laughter was enough for Jared to make a slight recovery, "I hope you enjoy De Luca's obstacle course. He had me test it. I had to run it twice. Once without a wand and again with it. It doesn't make much sense either way. But I hope you have as much fun as I have. There are spiders in part of it."

Ron paled over. "S-spiders?"

"Big ones."

"You mean he's set up an obstacle course. Professor Lupin did one before, but judging by what happened to you, it's loads harder," said Harry, gazing at Jared who glared at him.

"He had Hagrid put in some of the creatures that we've been studying along with a few new ones," Jared informed him. "It's almost like a maze, but not really. It's wide open. You know where you're going and what your goal is, but you don't know what's going to pop up next. After running the course, Professor De Luca has been kind enough to shorten my detention. Now, if you excuse me, I'll be going back to the room and curl into a defensive ball. I'll be sleeping until next weekend if I can pull it off." He got to his feet and grabbed the stack of buttered toast off of Ron's plate on the way out. He staggered out of the Great Hall. Harry laughed, while Hermione tried not to.

Ron stared at the void on his plate that his toast once occupied. "He took my toast!" he exclaimed.

"Here," said Hermione, passing the plate of toast to Ron. "Just let him have it." She started piling more toast on his plate. "I'm more worried about the obstacle course."

"So am I, but it's got to be good training," said Harry almost brightly.

"But there are spiders," whined Ron before taking a bite of his toast.

That was what bothered Ginny at the moment that was quiet and in deep thought. How did Jared know that Ron was deathly afraid of spiders? Ginny would have heard something about it. She was sure of it. Or maybe, Jared found out in one of their classes. No, it was the way that Jared said it that made Ginny think otherwise. She was sure as hell going to find out the truth.

The following Monday, the sixth year class found out what Jared was muttering earlier. Jared had made a somewhat speedy recovery and he was now sitting sullenly with the rest of the class. He was actually enjoying the look on their faces as Professor De Luca explained what they were going to be doing over the next three days.

"The good news is that you won't have to attend any of the classes you have on the following Monday," Professor De Luca told them brightly. "It will be a regular Muggle camp out to see how we can learn to survive without our wands."

Hands were up in the other. The only one not raising his hand was Jared. He looked almost bored. Harry was the first one that Professor De Luca called, "You mean we have to give up our wands?"

"For only a brief portion of the campout," De Luca replied. He further explained, "Look, everything will make sense, starting Friday afternoon. Just be prepared to sleep on the ground and in tents. The tents will be divided by house and separated by sex. Each house will be receiving a grade as well as individual grades. And as always there are house points to be earned, so you will have to bond together if you want to survive and come out on top. Yes, Ron?"

"About the obstacle course, what's in it?"

"Oh, just a little bit of this and that. Jared tested it out earlier, so I modified it. Jared doesn't have that much of an advantage over anyone here," answered De Luca. "You'll be fine."

Jared groaned which earned him a look of pity from Neville. He shook his head and swore under his breath. It took one look from Hermione to stop him, while Ron maintained a look of utmost amusement. Jared slouched in his chair as he glared at De Luca whose smile never wavered.

The rest of the class was spent with them discussing the weekend campout. Almost everyone was happy because they were going to be able to skip classes on Monday. Jared was more concerned about his mission. He still wasn't getting anywhere. Admittedly, he was distracted. Looking at De Luca caused him for a fleeting moment to tell him about why Jared was really there, but that idea was quickly squashed.

When class was over, Jared got to his feet first and made a beeline for the door. Jared had a feeling he was running out of time. He knew who was after his parents, but what he didn't know was when he was going to strike. Even with time travel at Jared's fingertips, he still had to finish what he came for. There was no more time to be distracted by Ron and Hermione.

Jared's father had some powerful enemies. His father's reputation as an Auror was not based on mere rumor. Even after Voldemort had been destroyed, the Death Eaters were much harder to push back down. The death of Voldemort emboldened them and added with Fudge's incompetence, which resulted in a large number of Death Eaters worldwide. The US and French magical governments were the first to bring charges against Fudge as well as a good number of the people directly under him. It didn't matter in the end; Fudge disappeared only a few days after the fall of Voldemort and was found dead in a Muggle street.

Killing Voldemort was like cutting off one head of a hydra, several seemingly had sprung into place. Attacks had broken out all over the world. In less than a year, Ron and Harry were flying with the Aurors, but they weren't official Aurors. The struggle would continue in the next few years after their schooling. In the middle of it all, Harry and Ron underwent their Auror training, but with little to celebrate in the end. Hermione, who did not want to become a healer in the first, eventually stumbled upon it as her occupation. She was treating the Aurors in their private infirmary.

Together, Ron and Hermione started to date after a year out of Hogwarts and decided to get married at the urging of Ginny and Luna. The pair argued that some happiness should be allowed and that something would always come up, if Ron and Hermione waited long enough. So, they had a subdued private ceremony Ginny as the maid of honor and Harry as the best man.

Having children seemed like the natural progression, but it wasn't as easy as it sounded for Ron and Hermione. It turned out that Hermione's mother had complications as well as her mother. Therefore, Hermione founded out that she was going to have problems having a child. In fact, it was strongly advised against by her healer, which caused her to seek a second opinion with a Muggle doctor who said the same thing. That was enough for Ron to decide all by himself that he wasn't about to risk his wife's life to have a child. He settled with just having nieces and nephews, who were already driving him crazy.

It was probably the most strained period of their marriage. They argued all the time because Hermione really wanted to have a child, while Ron did not. Adoption was out of the question because it was rare that any wizarding child was without a family member to take him or her in, and adopting a Muggle child would not have worked for obvious reasons. Ron's job as an Auror also deemed them as unfavorable because the few wizarding adoption agencies wanted to risk placing a child in a family that could be disrupted with a possible death at any time. Ron's nieces and nephews only made Hermione long for her own child even more.

Jared didn't know the exact details of how he came about, but somehow his mother managed to get pregnant with him. His father wasn't overly thrilled about it. Although, Jared once heard that his mother had tricked his father into it. In fact, his mother knew that she was expecting Jared the morning after he had been conceived, but choose not to tell his father until eight weeks later. During most of the pregnancy, his father was disgruntled and worried about his mother's health. With good reason, by the third trimester, his mother was forced to stay in bed for the duration of the pregnancy.

Ron was spending the last trimester, catering to Hermione's food cravings. She insisted on spending time with her mother at her parents. After all, Hermione's mother had better luck keeping her rested. It was then that she was watching television and many cooking shows. Hermione started to have food cravings for international cooking, and Ron ended up Apparating all over the world to get everything from sushi to Philly steak sandwiches. Even now, Jared had a taste for international food, which Ron had to live with.

Jared was back in the moment as he continued walking along one of the more isolated corridors of the castle. He stopped when he realized that he was further away from Gryffindor Tower than he wanted to be. Sighing, he pulled out the map from his pocket and pointed his wand at it, whispering the incantation, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." The map immediately appeared.

"Hmm, damn it. Six years and I still can't find my way around here," he whispered under his breath. He started to walk ahead without looking around. He rounded the corner and was back the staircase that led back to the tower. He put the map away without wiping it.

He entered the common room and went up the stairs. What was waiting for him was a total surprise. He paused at the doorway, seeing a flicker of a recognizable side of red. "Ron? How did you get back here before me?" he asked.

"I'm not Ron," corrected Ginny mildly. As she stood over Jared's open trunk. She had taken out the false bottom.

"Ginny," breathed Jared nervously. "What are you doing in my trunk?"

"I'll answer that if you tell me how you got my brother's trunk," answered Ginny as she gestured towards the one at the foot of Ron's bed. "Who are you?" she further demanded as she drew her wand, pointing straight at Jared's chest. He raised his hands defensively.

"I'm Ron's son," surrendered Jared, keeping his eyes locked with Ginny's.

* * *

AN: Looks like Ginny's caught on. Jared's family does have a bit of history involved. Post-Voldemort more things happened that cause Harry to make good on his promise. It's also amazing what exhaustion can do to a person, isn't it? As for Jared grabbing the toast off of Ron's plate, he's his child so he can do it, but Jared did it without thinking. Jared isn't afraid of spiders. 

Now, I bet people are wondering how Ron got tricked by Hermione into making Jared. Is he still sore about it in the future? Not really. The fact that Jared can grab the toast off of Ron's plate is an indication of that.

I'm sorry for all the delays. The site is also acting up. Some stuff doesn't load. Does anyone else have the same problem?

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.


	9. An Assist

Temporal Flux

Chapter Nine: An Assist

Ginny stared at Jared without blinking for a good minute. Marveling at the very sight of him, she took in very inch, every detail of his being. How could she not notice before? No, she did realize there was something familiar about him. But why didn't she connect Jared directly to Ron?" I know that this a lot for you to take in," whispered Jared very soothingly, praying that Ginny wouldn't hex him. Ginny was heaving as she lowered her wand. Jared breathed a sigh of relief as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Okay. Now that sort of makes sense. Or does it," she started babbling as she paced back and forth around Jared's trunk. "Wait!" she snapped, startling him, "What about your voice?"

"My American accent's fake."

"But why are you using it? Drop it. I haven't really heard Americans talk except for the ones I listened to at the World Quidditch Cup. Your accent's awful."

"Very well," agreed Jared, using his natural voice, "Too much bloody work anyway."

Ginny's eyes widened. "Oh my God! You sound just like Ron!" she exclaimed in a frantic whisper. "Put the accent back on!"

"Why?"

"Don't play around. It's just too weird. It's all just too weird."

"Aunt Ginny, just please calm down. At least don't talk so loud," pleaded Jared, resuming his false accent.

"Aunt Ginny?" squeaked Ginny. "I can't believe I'm your aunt." She put her hands on her mouth, then withdrew them. "If Ron's your father, who's your mother?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

Ginny took another look at his brown eyes. "You have Hermione's eyes," she concluded, "All right. It's the only thing that really makes sense to me."

Jared had to get her to calm down and get her out of the boys' dorm before any of the others came in. He also had to close his trunk. "I don't think you should tell them," suggested Jared. "I don't know how they're going to react."

Ginny placed her hands on her hips as she looked at Jared more closely. "I can't see how they haven't noticed yet. Why are being so obnoxious to Ron?"

"I can't help it, if he's so immature right now. It's going to take a couple more years before he becomes the man who will become my father. Hermione's closer to being the person who's my mother right now. Look, I know that this doesn't make any sense."

"What are you doing here? I mean here as in now," asked Ginny.

Jared walked passed her and put the false bottom back in his trunk. He threw his things back in. "I can't explain right now," he answered. "You've got to get out of here before my fa—I mean before your brother gets back here and thinks there's something completely wrong going on here."

"You're right," agreed Ginny in a hushed voice. "I should get out of here before Ron gets back." She started to leave, but by then it was too late. Ron and Harry strolled in and almost saw her. But just before they could see her, Jared threw the invisibility cloak over her. "Don't make a sound," whispered Jared.

"What do you mean 'don't make a sound?'" asked Ron as he took off his outer robes and dropped them on his trunk. "Are you talking to yourself?"

"I was just reciting something that I was memorizing. You know to keep it fresh in my memory," replied Jared lamely. "Well, I got to go to the library. See you later." He made a dash for the door.

"What Hell just happened?" asked Ron out loud to Harry who merely shrugged.

On the way down the stairs, Jared nearly collided with Hermione who was on her way to her favorite chair. "I'm sorry," he said immediately. "I have to go to the library." He ran off before she had a chance to say anything. Ron and Harry came down shortly after. "What's going on?" she asked.

"I have no idea," answered Harry. "I don't know why Jared is in such a hurry."

"He said he had to go to the library," added R

"Yeah, I was about to ask him how he was going to study without any books or papers," pointed out Hermione. They all looked at each other. "All right. Now, I'm really curious," she said after a minute.

"So am I," agreed Ron as he paced around. It was then that Colin Creevey came up to them without his camera. "What do you want?"

"I'm looking for Ginny. She said that she would be here. The rest of our study group is waiting for her," said Colin in a timid voice. He was rather intimidated by Ron who seemed to tower over him.

"I don't know where she'd be," said Ron dismissively.

"I thought she was up here," said Hermione worriedly. "Aren't you worried, Ron?"

Ron shrugged, "I'm sure she's fine. She knows how to stay out of trouble. She's overly cautious."

"I'm sure that Ginny's fine, too. Aren't we talking about Jared?" asked Harry.

"That's right. What do you think he's really up to?" asked Hermione out loud.

"I guess we'll have to figure that out," answered Harry.

Jared crept into a dark, isolated corner of the library. "Ginny!" he whispered loudly. "Where are you? Aunt Ginny?" He seized up as his heart nearly stopped when she pulled off the cloak and he could only see her head. Ginny took the cloak off and handed it back to Jared. "You scared me."

"You did it first," countered Ginny, breathing deeply. "That was close." She looked frantically around. "I'm lucking no one ran into me on my way out of there."

"I'm even luckier that Ron didn't find you there talking to me alone," muttered Jared. "What were you doing in my trunk?"

"What you said yesterday morning at breakfast. You knew that Ron was afraid of spiders," replied Ginny as she crossed her arms over her chest and smoothed her hair. "And there was a lot of other things. You know I never thought of my brother as handsome, but looking at you, I guess he is."

Jared raised his eyebrow at her, "Thanks….I think. I have my mother's coloring."

"That you do. I mean if you had Ron's hair and eyes, you'd definitely look identical to him. But that still doesn't explain what you're doing here right now."

"Let's go outside. I don't like it in here. Someone could be listening," suggested Jared as he handed back the cloak to Ginny. She gave him a perplexed look and realized that Madame Pince might have seen Jared coming in, but she certainly did not see Ginny come in. Ginny disappeared under the cloak as Jared led her out of there. They continued silently walking until they reached the tree by the lake.

Ginny took of the cloak and shook her hair. She handed back the cloak to Jared, who folded it carefully. "Where did you get that? It comes pretty handy, but these are expensive."

"My godfather loaned it to me," answered Jared. "Didn't you want to know why I'm here? Or would rather find out what other things I have, which is kind of pointless because you already looked through my trunk?"

"I don't like your attitude," muttered Ginny. She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Why are you here?"

Jared too a long breath before he started explaining, "It's very complicated and it involves a bit of history that hasn't happen yet. So, I'll give you the gist of it. Someone has come back here because my father is vulnerable. He swore that he'd get even with my father by destroying him, and since my mother is here, she's also a target. I don't know if he'll kill my father or mother. Or both."

"Who is this someone?" asked Ginny in alarm. "And what did Ron do that someone would go after him?"

"Ron will become an Auror. He will be one of the leading investigators against the underworld of the wizarding world. I'm talking illegal activities that involve tampering in the lives of Muggles and wizards, but Ron will be the one to take this man out. Back in my time, he broke out of Azkaban, and all indications showed that he was planning on time travel. That's when things started changing. My mother put up a shield to protect us, including my godfather in our house in London. With another spell, Ron and Harry were able to figure out what time did Magnus traveled to—"

Ginny interrupted him as she rubbed her temples, "Wait? Magnus? He's the enemy of your father?"

"Yes, but like I said there's some history involved. And that's stuff that I don't know because my parents wouldn't tell me. I was home for the summer fresh from my fifth year and waiting for my O.W.L. results when it started. Magnus was put away during the beginning of my fourth year, but at the end of his trial he swore that he'd take everything that mattered from my father. He would make sure that my father would never be able to bother him again, and what better way to ensure that than to make sure Ron never becomes an Auror." Jared took a deep breath as he looked anxiously at Ginny.

"I thought only Harry made enemies who wanted him dead!" exclaimed Ginny in horror.

"My father is perfectly capable of making his own enemies," countered Jared sourly. "My parents are excellent magic users and they were able to figure out that this is the time period he was going back in. They were arguing with Uncle—I mean Harry—about going back and stopping Magnus. But it would have been too difficult to pull off, but I was the right age. Harry thought it would be a good idea to send me back and my mother agreed with him, but my father didn't want to send me back at all. So, while they were arguing about it, I took the initiative and completed the spell by myself."

Ginny's eyes widened. "You mean to tell me that you came here by yourself? How did you pull forging all that stuff?"

"Oh please, you can't be the son of an Auror without learning a few things," replied Jared almost defensively, but there was definitely a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

"I guess it doesn't matter," surrendered Ginny as she ran her fingers through her hair again. She was now getting a vague idea how her father was losing his hair. "All right. So, I know, does anyone else?"

"Dumbledore and some of the staff, but I think it's really Professor De Luca. Snape may have a vague idea, but I don't think he fully knows otherwise he'd be treating me much worse," said Jared thoughtfully. "But I didn't tell them why I'm here, so you're the only one who knows. Maybe you could help me out."

Ginny nodded. "I'm still trying to swallow this though," she admitted. "All right. I'll help you. What do you need me to do?" It was fairly obvious that she was taking a leap of faith.

"I haven't got access to the girls' dorms. I can't even go near the stairs really without them turning into a slide. If Hermione experiencing any thing unusual, she's not going to tell me. I need you to get any information out of her that you can. I know that she didn't go to Hogsmeade during that weekend, but I need to know who Magnus will hit."

"Why wouldn't he try for both?" asked Ginny. "That's what I don't understand."

"It's matter of how much damage Magnus wants to cause. If he really wants to hurt Ron, he'd have to go after my mother. But if he wants to completely stop Ron, he'd have to kill him."

"Your parents don't even know they like each other," pointed out Ginny. "Although, they do argue like an old married couple. Ron's too stupid to realize he likes Hermione, but sometimes I swear I don't know what Hermione is thinking. She didn't really say or do anything when he went out with Casey."

"Yeah, about that. Hermione really was upset. I don't think he's too stupid to realize it, but later on when he does figure it out he doesn't go for it. It'll take him another two years to figure it out. It's very complicated. When he does, he'll realize that he really hasn't got much to offer her. My grandparents on my mother's side make a lot of money and my father felt like he had nothing to really to give her."

"That's ridiculous. Hermione doesn't care about that sort of thing. If she did, she would already be going out with Viktor Krum and not keep him as a pen friend. How long before you come along?"

"Um…about seven years. Give or take a few months," replied Jared. "My parents were married for about four, almost five years, before I come along."

"Wow. My parents had Bill by the end of the first year. I wonder what took them so long to have you."

"That's another story for another time," said Jared. "So, are you going to help me?"

"I'll see what I can do, but remember your class is going on that campout. So, I don't know how much I can do before hand. What are you trying to do with Ron?"

"All I can do is keep an eye on him," answered Jared with a shrug. "I'm having a harder time paying attention to Hermione because I simply don't have the access that you do. Besides you can do all the girl talk you want."

Ginny laughed at that moment despite herself. "Okay right now, you just sounded like your father. You really are Ron's son."

"Why do people tell me that randomly after I say something?" asked Jared, which only served to make Ginny laugh longer.

Ginny returned to the common room before Jared and immediately went to work with her study group without looking at Ron or Hermione. She was sort of happy to know that Hermione was going to be her sister-in-law and she was actually finding their bickering rather adorable. They were now bickering over Hermione's notes from the history class, but she refused to lend them to Ron and Harry. Harry accepted it, but Ron wasn't going to let it go.

"Why don't you just lend me the notes already?" argued Ron.

"Because it's a crutch. You need to study more," countered Hermione. "If you stayed awake more than five minutes in class, you'd have notes."

Jared walked in a quietly as possible and came back empty-handed. "I thought you went to the library for something," observed Harry out loud, causing Jared to freeze mid-motion.

"The book I was looking for was out," said Jared. "I was looking for _Quidditch Through the Ages_."

"I thought I returned that," said Ron.

Jared looked towards Ginny for an assist. "Oh! I have it. I borrowed it before you did this afternoon," she said, covering for Jared. "If you want to read it, I'll give it to you later. Or do you want it now?"

"No, you're on the Quidditch team, so you should keep it until you're done," answered Jared. "That's perfectly fine. I'll go up and um…take a little nap. See you later." He practically zipped out of the common room. Ginny quickly turned her head away from her brother who was eyeing her suspiciously.

Jared was back in the room after a quick look around, he opened his trunk and replaced the cloak under the false bottom. He folded his things carefully and reorganized everything, but took the diary with him into his bed. He closed the curtains and lit up the tip of his wand.

He flipped through the pages and read that some of the entries were starting to change. That meant that there was a possibility that the spell was unraveling. It was now imperative that he read the entries no matter how much it violated his mother's privacy. He read the entries for the weekend. But was disappointed to find that there wasn't much and realized that the entries wouldn't change until the weekend had passed. That meant that Jared might have more time and was probably panicking for nothing. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Crookshanks padded into boys' dorm and went straight for Jared. "Hey, mate," whispered Jared, slipping off his accent briefly, as he rubbed Crookshanks' nuzzle who rewarded him with a purr. "I can't say how much I missed you. The house will never be the same after you're gone. Let's take a nap." Jared put Hermione's diary under his pillow and took off everything except his shirt and his slacks. He liked being free of the socks for a bit, so he tucked himself in, but didn't draw the curtains. Crookshanks jumped onto the bed and went promptly to curl up at Jared's feet.

"We should get ready for practice after dinner," said Harry. "Oops, I forgot that he went up here to get some sleep." He lowered his voice.

"I don't care," muttered Ron out loud. Jared almost smiled, remembering all the tiptoeing that his father used do just to keep him sleeping. "He's got Crookshanks with him. Why are the two things that irritate me together?"

"Because they're plotting against you," joked Harry, ignoring the glare from Ron. "But haven't you notice that they're attached to Hermione? Maybe that's why they irritate you so much."

If Jared's eyes had been opened, he would have seen how red Ron was. "Why are you telling me these things?" demanded Ron in an uncharacteristically high voice. Now Jared was having a hard time fighting off a grin. "Don't be so loud," said Harry with an added laugh.

Ron grumbled as he pulled out his Quidditch equipment. Jared shifted around a bit, causing Ron to sigh. He got to his feet and walked over to his bed. Ron pulled the curtains closed, but didn't say anything about Jared leaving them open in the first place. Before he closed the curtains, Ron took a long look at Jared and Crookshanks, but finally closed them. Shaking his head at no one in particular, Ron grabbed the rest of his gear and followed Harry downstairs.

Jared slept for about an hour before Crookshanks woke him up. "I'm up," he muttered impatiently as he tried to readjust his voice. He was speaking in his natural voice again, which was going to be a problem if anyone walked in. He was utterly shocked when someone yanked the curtains open. "Ginny! You scared me!" His exclamation was punctuated with Crookshanks' surprised yowl. "Don't do that!"

"You may want to put your bad American accent back on," she suggested. "Besides, it's not like you were naked or anything. I've got six brothers, too, so believe me I won't be surprise by anything I see."

"Am I back in my present time? Because you like to remind me how you used to change my diapers," muttered Jared with his resumed accent. "It's very embarrassing."

"Then you should be nicer to me," said Ginny as she handed him some sandwiches. "I got them from the kitchens. You didn't come to dinner again. Here's some butterbeer."

Jared gave her a lopsided grin, which now Ginny knew was Ron's. "Thanks," he said softly. He took a little bit of the meat and gave it to his naptime partner who received it with a purr of appreciation. He closed the sandwich again and took a bite. "You didn't have to bring me anything. I could have gone by myself," he told her in between bites.

"I don't think that's a good idea right now. You weren't in the common room earlier. They're now suspicious of you," pointed out Ginny as took a seat on his bed. "Especially Ron. If you wanted to get his attention, you've got it."

Jared sighed as he polished off his sandwich. He drank half the butterbeer in one gulp. "I guess I'll have to tone it down during the campout. You won't be able to find out anything Hermione might know in the meantime. This is just bad timing."

"So, what do you want me to do?" asked Ginny.

"I don't know," admitted Jared with a sigh. "Magnus hasn't shown up yet. I know that I was a bit early, but that's was part of the plan."

"How did your father catch him before?"

"I don't know. Those records are sealed in the Department of Mysteries. I don't really know how Magnus looks like either. He's a serial murderer. If it wasn't for my father, he'd still be hunting his victims."

"I thought he was the leader of an organization."

"He used a lot of tactics to manipulate people. One of his 'students,'" Jared used his fingers to emphasize quotations, "was killing Muggles using the same techniques. It took years to catch him. He twisted the minds of both wizards and Muggles. Leaving lots of bodies in his wake."

"And Ron went up against him."

"He was the only one who could. And there's no telling if Magnus was even his real name and there's a chance that he changed his appearance. He's a master of disguise and always had a large stock of Polyjuice Potion. He wouldn't need to conceal how he looks because no one would know how he'd look like right now. Except for me."

"Do you have a picture of him?" breathed Ginny quietly. "Maybe, I could do some research while you're away for the campout and figure out who he is right now."

"No, I don't have a picture of him with me, but I could draw one," said Jared as he got out of bed and went to his trunk. He pulled out a sketchbook book and some pencils. "I can draw realism really well. I used to doodle a lot when I was younger." He started to draw thin lines. "But I haven't seen the picture that much. I have no idea how my father figured it all out." In less than half an hour, Jared finished the picture and handed it to Ginny.

Ginny carefully studied the picture and shook her head. "I don't recognize this person at all. I've never seen him before," she said after a minute. "The library's only got school books in it. But it's a place worth starting."

"He's also probably been seen in the Muggle world," added Jared.

Ginny licked her lips as she furrowed her brow in thought. She got to her feet and carefully rolled the parchment. "I'll see what I can do. Looks like I'll be spending the weekend at the library. You'll just have to wait it out. I have to go. Ron and Harry went to the Quidditch pitch early, but the rest of the team's got to be there in ten minutes. I need to suit up."

"Keep that picture in a safe place," warned Jared as she made her exit. Ginny flashed a smile as she left him. He sighed as he got to his feet. He had homework to do and it was about time to do it. There was nothing to do, but wait.

* * *

AN: Stupid isn't posting stuff properly. That's why there have been delays. Thanks for your patience. 

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.


	10. The Raven

Temporal Flux

Chapter Ten: The Raven

Jared packed up his school bag with some supplies for the campout. He wasn't too worried about being outdoors; rather he was more concerned about being in close quarters with Ron and Harry who were watching him carefully after they had returned from Quidditch practice. Hermione was doing the same thing. Jared was being as quiet as possible and trying to draw as little attention as possible. It wasn't working.

"Are you done?" asked Harry as he watched Crookshanks pad his way into the dorm room. "He's been coming over a lot."

"I guess he likes me," said Jared with a shrug as Crookshanks rubbed up against his shins. He didn't really have it in him to tell Crookshanks to go away. Ron strolled in, drying his hair. He took one look at Crookshanks and Jared and shook his head. Jared didn't bother to ask what was wrong. It was a good idea that he didn't tell Ron that he was his son. At this point in time, Jared somehow doubted that Ron was thinking about having any children. Jared decided it was best to stay out of Ron's way.

"We should get down soon," said Harry. "Hermione's waiting for us. Come on, Ron."

"Give me a sec," said Ron as he buttoned up the front of his shirt. For a fleeting moment, Jared remembered sitting on top of a hamper, watching his father getting ready for the day. Ron always buttoned up his shirt last. He didn't wear ties that often for work. The only thing really missing was Ron's aftershave that Hermione would eventually get for him. Jared shook his head and picked up his bag. Crookshanks followed him out.

Ron and Harry quickly joined Jared on the stairs. Hermione was patiently waiting for them on one of the soft cushiony chairs. She glanced down to see Crookshanks, practically refusing to leave Jared's side. "Why are you always with him, Crookshanks?" asked Hermione mildly. Crookshanks meowed at her, but really couldn't give an answer. "And why do you let him?" she directed to Jared.

"Like I said, I had a part-Kneazle when I was growing up. He died when I was five, but we had a lot of fun together. We spent one afternoon hiding my father's chess pieces," answered Jared.

"He must have not been too happy when he got back," said Hermione as she got to her feet.

"No, he wasn't particularly thrilled," agreed Jared. "He couldn't really yell at me or our part-Kneazle. I was two and he was just old. My mother wouldn't let him. Let's go down for breakfast. I'm starving."

They all trooped down to the Great Hall. Almost everyone was a touch nervous about going off and camping out. One could have easily predicted that the house that was going to have the most trouble would be Slytherin, and this would have been a very correct assumption. They spent the most time grumbling about it because Professor De Luca simply didn't give anyone enough time to prepare for the outdoor conditions.

Pansy was the first of the Slytherins girls to voice her complaints. Now most of the girls from the other houses agreed with her, at least mildly, but she was such a horrible person that no one was about to support her or her whining. Draco moaned over having to sleep on the ground, but really had nothing to threaten with.

The house that was handling the campout best was Gryffindor. Harry was used to not sleeping in the best of conditions. After living with the Dursleys for years, he had developed the highest tolerance to discomfort out of all of the Gryffindors. Ron was used to sharing his living space with more than one person. Dean, Seamus, and Neville had about the same amount of tolerance. Besides, the boys had spent six years living together in one room, so they didn't seem much of a difference.

Hermione was all right with the campout. It was Lavender and Parvati who had problems. Neither girl ever had to sleep on the ground before because they had come from wizarding families. Hermione's father had taken her out camping on more than one occasion and argued that the campout would be an excellent learning experience for everyone.

Meanwhile Jared kept to himself, except for giving some looks towards Ginny. She knew what she was going to have to do as soon as the sixth years left. She had kept the picture in a safe place as well as keeping a visual memory of it in her mind. Jared and Ginny couldn't look at each other for very long because of Ron's suspicious glances.

Professor De Luca walked into the Great Hall with a huge grin on his face that made all the sixth years very uncertain. "Good morning, everyone," he greeted jovially.

"What's so good about it?" said Ron out loud, which was followed by many murmurs of agreement. He said exactly what Jared was thinking.

"It's a beautiful day and there's not a cloud in the sky. That's something to be happy about," replied De Luca without dropping his grin.

Jared shrugged his shoulders. Harry had an odd feeling of déjà vu as he glanced at Jared because he was wearing the same expression as Ron. In fact, Jared was unconsciously leaning the same way. Harry was sitting next to Ron, but across from Jared. He glanced at Ron for a moment, then at Jared. Wearing an expression of utmost confusion, he turned his head and saw that Ginny was staring straight at him. She had the expression of a cat that had swallowed a very large canary and didn't have any trouble getting it down. Her look was reminiscent of either Fred or George.

If that didn't make Harry suspicious, Jared also sat next to Hermione. Harry blinked to refresh his eyes as he glanced at Ron, then Hermione, and finally Jared. Once again, he stole a glance at Ginny who gave him a smirk and Harry probably just imagined her nod of confirmation. "Harry, are you all right?" asked Hermione, noticing the look on his face.

"I'm fine. Just fine," replied Harry automatically. Jared stared at him, too.

Ron wasn't paying much attention. "Leave him alone, Hermione," he told her. Jared was more in tuned than Ron and knew that there was something wrong. Ginny cleared her throat at that moment to get everyone's attention.

Professor De Luca went over the rules of the campout before they could get their gear outside. The school was providing tents that each of the houses had to put up. The rules were as followed: the houses would compete for both house points as well as grades, any sabotage would not be tolerated, and the boys and girls were to not to mix in each others' tents. These rules left too much room for other things to happen.

Jared was the first one to the section marked off for the Gryffindor boys, followed by the others. The boys stared awkwardly at each other for a moment, but then eyes fell on Ron, simply because he was a prefect. Ron grabbed a bucket. "I'm going to go and get some water for everyone," he volunteered.

"I'll go with you," offered Neville.

"What about the rest of us?" asked Jared.

Ron studied the rest of the boys and asked, "Dean and Seamus, you guys went to the World Cup before, and so you do know how to pitch a tent?"

"Sure we do," answered Seamus as Dean nodded with him. "We'll pitch the tent."

"We should go out and get some firewood," pointed out Harry as he glanced at Jared who nodded slowly.

"Meet back here as soon as possible," said Ron as everyone depart in their respective directions. Hermione and the other Gryffindor girls met up with him and after a brief chat, Hermione went with Ron and Neville to get water. Lavender and Parvati choose to assemble the tents with Seamus and Dean.

Harry took the initiative and led the way, purposefully leading Jared as far away from the others as possible. Jared followed him silently for five minutes before he noticed that Harry wasn't picking up any wood. He stopped and noticed that they were just entering the Forbidden Forest. Of course, Jared had been in there before, but was feeling more nervous because Harry was deliberately walking in. He was the one who had warned Jared numerous times about going into the forest. "Where are we going? Aren't we supposed to be picking up fire wood?" asked Jared in a whisper.

Harry didn't respond. He merely continued with Jared slowing down behind him. As soon as they could no longer hear any voices, Harry stopped and pivoted suddenly, causing Jared to stumble back. His heels tripped a root as he fell back. However, Harry's hand grabbed his wrist just in time.

"I asked you before about Hermione by the tree," said Harry in a deadly calm voice without releasing Jared's wrist. In fact, he tightened his hold. Jared visibly winched. "You said that you were in loved her. I want to know exactly who you are right now."

"Let me go," hissed Jared through his teeth. "I didn't do anything wrong. And you're wrong. I said I loved her. I didn't say that I was in love with her. Ron is. Not me. I love her, and so do you. We just don't love her the same way."

There was a puzzling look on Harry's face as he reluctantly released Jared from his grasp. "I have a feeling I've met you before," admitted Harry slowly. "Everything about you seems so familiar, but it's different. All mixed up."

Jared sighed. Harry was so much calmer than Ginny, but how was he supposed to explain himself? "What is it about me?" whispered Jared. Maybe, Harry wasn't noticing as much.

"You look so familiar…but it's impossible," answered Harry as he focused his eyes on Jared. His eyes were taking in all of him. "But it's your eyes. They look a lot like Hermione's."

"That's because they are hers. I got them from her. The hair and skin coloring, too." Jared held his breath waiting for Harry's reaction. His green eyes because as large as saucers as he started walking around Jared.

"Oh my God!" exclaimed Harry after a minute and on the second time he walked around. "How?!" Now it was Harry's turn to stumble back, but Jared stopped him.

Jared decided to put all the cards on the table. Without Ginny there, he needed someone to cover for him and only Harry could do it. Jared had no choice, but to break up the trio. He started to speak in his natural voice, complete with his accent. His voice didn't vary much from his father's, "Listen to me very carefully and stop yelling like that. You're going to draw attention to us. They'll think I'm attacking you or something."

Harry's mouth opened a bit as he stared at Jared. "You sound exactly like Ron!" It had never occurred to Harry that he sounded like his own father, too. Most of the time a person's voice sounded different in their heads compared to how everyone else hears them. "But you're something that Hermione would say."

"My parents are the last people who should be coming here right now," said Jared calmly. "Now, are you willing to listen to me?"

"You've got my attention. Completely."

"There's too much to explain right now. And they'll be expecting us to come back with the wood at any moment, so I'll make this as quickly as possible."

"Why don't we collect the wood while you explain yourself?"

"Fine."

As they collected the wood, Jared summed up almost everything that had happened. He mentioned that Ginny knew, but was very curious as to how Harry figured it out. "How did you know?"

"I didn't," admitted Harry as he stooped down to get a piece of wood. "I was wondering about what you said at the tree. Don't worry I didn't tell Ron or Hermione. I don't know how Hermione would have handled it, but I'm pretty sure that Ron would have been angry."

"Thanks. I don't know why I say the things that I do. I'm very impulsive and a smart mouth. My mother says that I get it from her."

"Well, that explains why you called Ron a freak, but if he's your father that doesn't make much sense."

"He was accusing me of stuff. I got defensive and it was just so easy to antagonize him. I didn't know that they'd start fighting like that. But he was being stupid." Jared sounded very petulant and stubborn. Harry sighed because he could see a glimmer in Jared's eyes that was nearly identical to Hermione's whenever she was insistent about being right about something.

"How do your parents stand you in the future?" muttered Harry, picking up another piece of wood and handing it to Jared.

"I have no idea…my dad wonders how he does it, too," answered Jared with a clever grin. "I don't think they realize how annoying their little quirks were until I started exhibiting them. My dad was so annoyed with my commentary until my mum pointed out that I got it from him."

"Among other things, I'm sure," agreed Harry. "You'll have to switch back to that accent you're using."

Jared gave him a long look before he spoke, "Are you going to keep my secret for the time being?"

"Answer me one question about the future," said Harry and Jared nodded. "Now it's something I'm just going to take a guess at, but I was wondering where I fit in all of this. What's in the store for me?"

"You'll live," answered Jared with a smile. "You have to. We'll need you later on to protect me."

"Why would you need protection?" asked Harry.

"Let's just say that some events will take place that will force my family into hiding. You won't be with us. You'll be our Secret Keeper because you're my parents' best friends and you're also my godfather." Jared gave Harry a wider grin.

"I become your Secret Keeper?" asked Harry with alarm. "What happens?"

"I can't say anymore than that. Let's head back. There are more important things we have to deal with right now. Aunt Ginny's taken over researching Magnus' identity right now, but there's no telling if she'll find anything."

"You're right, but if this man's after Ron or Hermione, wouldn't be easier to tell them?" asked Harry. "You wouldn't have to say that you were their son, just that you're from the future."

"They wouldn't know enough to help us. Ron's not trained yet to handle it. Hermione's diary is already helping us. They're not going to handle it very well. I know those people. I come from them."

"Hermione has a diary?" asked Harry with genuine surprise. "I didn't know that."

"Let's head back now," suggested Jared as he turned back. "I don't like being here longer than necessary. Someone warned me about this place."

"Who?" asked Harry.

Jared smirked at him and replied, "You did."

A raven watched from above with its beady little eyes. He saw the young couple-to-be walking together from the water source. The red head was still growing. His body was lanky and skinny compared to the muscle he would eventually build. The brown haired girl walking next to him, was blossoming into womanhood quite beautifully. The raven had never really seen her up close before.

"So, where did Harry go?" asked Hermione as she pulled a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"He and Jared went to go gather the wood," answered Ron.

Hermione gave him a worried look, "You mean you let Harry go alone with him?"

"You're the one who kept saying that you didn't think that Jared would hurt Harry, are you saying that you've changed your mind?" asked Ron.

Hermione threw her hands up in the air. "Never mind," she muttered.

"Now what?" asked Ron exasperatedly.

"It's just that you don't like Jared. What do you have against him, Ron?" asked Hermione.

"Why do you like him so much?" demanded Ron. "If you like him so much, then maybe you should be around here."

Hermione felt frantic at that moment. "What gives you the right to be jealous?" she said in a harsh whisper. "And I asked you before, why do you come after me the moment you think someone's remotely interested in me?"

Ron's face was red. "Why would I be jealous? You're right. Do whatever the Hell you want," he responded angrily.

"What's going on with you two?" asked Jared as he and Harry came up to them. They had dropped off the wood already. "Where's Neville?" asked Harry.

"He took one of the buckets back already," replied Hermione as she ran her fingers through her hair. Jared looked at his parents, then at Harry.

He didn't see the raven that was watching him. The raven took off at that moment. The black bird flew high into the air until it was up to the mountains. They were the same mountains that Sirius Black used before as shelter when Harry was in the Triwizard Tournament. The raven changed into a man that did not match the picture that Jared had sketched.

"Looks like his mudblood whelp has shown up. What to do next?" he said to himself as he paced back and forth. "In order to stop the brat, the only way to go is to kill the mudblood bitch. Yes, that would be best, but not before he realizes what he is about to lose. I can't kill him. I want to feel it. I need him to feel it."

"I wonder what happened," whispered Jared to Harry as they watched the tension between Ron and Hermione. "Is it something I did?"

"I think so," answered Harry in an equally soft whisper. "You ever think that you're the reason why Ron's going crazy. Do you know what it looks like when you spend so much time with his sister and Hermione?"

Jared gave him a brief quizzical look before a dawning realization hit him. Sometimes he was just as oblivious to his actions as Ron. "Oh. I didn't know he was mad at me for that. But, he doesn't have to be. I mean she's—well, you know what she is to me. That's just sick."

"They don't know that," retorted Harry. "And I thought you were supposed to be really smart."

"He doesn't really change much. He doesn't like it when any man looks at her a certain way. She's kind of learning how to ignore it."

"Well, they're going to be at each other's throats, if you continue to do what you're doing."

"Fine, I'll stay out of the way."

"Just stuck with me for now."

Jared gave Harry an appreciative look. "You should have told me sooner," went on Harry. "I'm pretty sure that I would have sworn to protect you long before you ever came."

"Thanks, Harry. But what about them?"

"I'll take care of it," Harry assured him. "Just stay out of the way for now."

Jared nodded and went into the tent as Harry approached them. "Are you ever going to finish bring those buckets?" he asked with a smile. He was having a hard time not smiling at them. It was exactly the same grin that Ginny had been wearing earlier.

"Yeah, we were just coming," called Ron as he carried two buckets. He had taken the one from Hermione, despite her resistance. "Are you all right, mate?"

"Fine," replied Harry. "Why are you asking me that?"

"You went off with Jared by yourself," answered Ron. "Hermione was worried."

Hermione's cheeks were bright red as she exclaimed indignantly, "I was not!"

"Nothing happened. Jared and I gathered the wood and brought it back. We'd all better get back and make sure everything's ready. Tomorrow's going to be a hard day. Professor De Luca will be inspecting the work we've done. So, we should get moving," urged Harry.

Harry was absolutely right. Something was about to happen that would change the course of events already in motion. The raven was already waiting for the next day, which was going to be a very hard one for everyone, especially Ron and Hermione.

* * *

AN: The raven's references to Hermione and Jared are less than kind. Harry now knows, but the next part's going to be hard. Jared maybe in more trouble than he realizes. We have yet to see what Ginny yields in her research. We are getting pretty close to one of Jared's parents figuring out who he is, but not before he annoys them even more with the assistance of his favorite aunt and godfather.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.


	11. A Trap

Temporal Flux

Chapter Eleven: A Trap

_Jared was enjoying his afternoon at his wizard grandparents home in __Southern England__. He was only four years old and everything was so new to him. His grandmother was watching him for the afternoon. Part of the reason why he enjoyed being at the Burrow was because he could freely use his magic there. His mother's parents were fun, but in a different way. There was more people who dropped by at his wizard grandparents' house. Jared loved his uncles and aunts._

_It was late in the afternoon, but it wasn't dinner yet. His father finally returned to pick him up. Jared immediately came rushing to him. His father picked him up and embraced him. His father was the tallest of all of them. "Daddy!" declared Jared with a giggle as his father bestowed a kiss on his cherubic-like cheek._

_"How's my mate?" asked Ron as he kissed Jared's other cheek. "Have you been good to your gran?"_

_"Yes, Daddy," answered Jared with a grin that could only mark mischief. _

_"Yeah, right," said Ron sarcastically as his mother walked._

_"He was an angel today, Ron," insisted Molly as she walked up to him with a smile._

_A round of pops sounded the arrival of Fred, George, and Ginny. Ron put Jared on the floor because he was squirming too much. Jared bounded towards Ginny first who gave him a hard hug and wet kisses all over his cheeks. "Yuck! Auntie Ginny's kisses are wet!"_

_"You don't like the way I kiss you?" teased Ginny as she ruffled his hair and passed him onto his Uncle George. _

_"You're looking good, Jared," observed George as he poked Jared just below his ribs on one side. Fred poked the other side, causing Jared to emit high pitched giggles. "You're looking more and more like your dad everyday. Let's hope you act more like your mother."_

_Ron rolled his eyes at Fred's comment. The adults started talking to each other and when that normally happens, a child has a tendency to feel ignored. Jared was an only child who was used to having a room of adults focusing on him. So, he walked up to his father and tugged at Ron's pant leg. "Daddy, I want a biscuit," said Jared very softly. Ron gestured with his hands for Jared to quiet down and wait._

_"I want a biscuit," repeated Jared, too young to understand Ron's gestures._

_"Not yet," said Ron finally after five minutes of Jared's pleas. "We're going to have dinner soon and your mum's going to meet us here."_

_"But, I'm hungry," insisted Jared stubbornly. It was moments like these where it was next to impossible to figure out where Jared's stubbornness came from. He had a very determined look on his face._

_"You can wait," said Ron, very patiently and gently. In time, he had learned how to keep calm. He had to learn because of his line of work and in dealing with his son and wife. "And you're not even using the magic word that even Muggles know. Don't tell me that you don't know it."_

_"I want a biscuit."_

_"Jared, you're not asking the right way. You just have to use the right word and I might consider giving you a biscuit."_

_Jared look thoughtful for a moment. Molly pursed her lips to keep herself from saying anything. It was best to allow her son to discipline his own child. Fred and George wore identical looks of amusement, while Ginny was trying to keep herself from mouthing the right word. "I want a biscuit."_

_"What do you have to say in order to get one?"_

_"NOW!"___

_Ron's lips were in a thin line as he regarded his son. He willed himself not to yell at him because Jared was just a small child, practically a baby. Fred and George sucked in their breathes, while Ginny shook her head. Molly immediately stepped in, "Ron, don't get angry. He's just a baby."_

_"That's not the right way to ask. And no, you cannot have a biscuit," said Ron as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You're going to sit down right now." His voice sounded very stern with anger teeming._

_Jared knew he had done something wrong because normally Ron would just yell, but his father not yelling was something else. His big brown eyes filled with tears and his bottom lip started to trembling. He started sobbing and gave way to full blown crying. _

_Molly's first impulse was to comfort her grandson, whose sobbing was heartbreaking. "Ron—"_

_"Leave him alone," said Ron. "I want him to figure out what he did wrong."_

_The sobbing and crying went on for a good five minutes before it became soft sniffles. Jared sat still the entire time. At first, he kept glancing at his father who wasn't looking at him. Pretty soon, he was afraid to look at him. He folded his arms on the table and laid his head down. The soft sniffles gave way to heavy tears again. _

_Another pop filled the empty silence aside from Jared's crying. Molly and Ginny busied themselves with dinner, while Fred and George left because Jared's crying made them uncomfortable. "Am I late?" asked Harry as he shrugged off his cloak. "What's going on? What did you do to my godson?"_

_"Jared, why don't you explain to your godfather what you did," ordered Ron as he got to his feet and walked out of the room. Jared turned his head when his father walked out on him. He whimpered as Harry picked him up._

_"Come on now," said Harry soothingly as he carried him into the backyard. When they got outside, they settled on the large picnic table. "All right, tell me what you did that made your father so mad."_

_The whole story came out in sobs and whimpers as Jared explained everything, but he left out the one thing that was bothering him the most. Harry listened patiently and wasn't all too surprised that Ron had gotten angry, yet it wasn't his job to chide and discipline Jared. Harry normally left that to Ron and Hermione. He explained Jared in a very soft voice, "You know what you did was wrong, right? You shouldn't say things like that to anyone, especially your daddy. He loves you very much and what you did was disrespectful. The first thing you have to do is apologize to your daddy and then when you ask for a biscuit you have to say please. You're a good lad. I know you can do it. And you're a bright lad, too." Jared nodded as Harry wiped away the tears and kissed the top of his godson's head._

_"Okay," whispered Jared._

_"Let's go back in and set it right, all right?" asked Harry. Jared nodded. "Do you want me to carry you in or do you want to walk by yourself? I'll hold your hand." Jared answered by jumping off his godfather's lap. Harry took his hand and they walked back into the warm kitchen together. "Where's Ron?"_

_"He's in the living room," answered Ginny. Harry led Jared into the living room. Reluctantly, Jared went up to his father and looked up at him with his teary eyes._

_"Excuse me, Daddy," whispered Jared, reaching out to tugging on Ron's pants like he normally did, but withdrew his hand without touching his father. _

_"Yes, Jared," said Ron coolly._

_"I'm very sorry," stated Jared. "I'm sorry I didn't ask for a biscuit like I was supposed to. May I please have a biscuit?" The last part was almost inaudible because Jared didn't partly believe that Harry was right._

_"Yes, you may," answered Ron. "It's close to dinner, but you can have two biscuits." Jared followed behind him, mimicking his father's long gait. Ron reached into the cupboard and handed two biscuits to Jared, who wiped the corners of his eyes, before timidly accepting the biscuits. He turned around and immediately ran to Harry. "Here, Uncle Harry! You get one, too," announced Jared as he gave one of the biscuits to his godfather. _

_"Thank you," said Harry as he watched Jared scamper off to the living room. "You see, Ron, you've got to tell him what he's done first. Sometimes he's just too little to know any better."_

_"I know," said Ron. "But sometimes he just learns better this way." However, Jared walked back in, still looking very sad. "What's wrong, love?"_

_"Do you still love me, Daddy?" asked Jared in a whisper, causing Ron to soften almost immediately. The child really had a way of getting to one of the top Aurors in all of __England__. Ron was a man who's reputation rightly so preceded him. Ron went down to his son's level and gently scooped him up into his arms. Ron kissed him tenderly on the cheek. _

_"You know I love you, Jared. Listen to me now. There is nothing in the world that would ever make me not love you. It doesn't matter how much of a brat you are. You are my child and I'll love you no matter what. Why did you ask me just now if I still loved you?"_

_"Because you were so mad at me, Daddy.__ I thought you stopped loving me. That you wouldn't be my daddy anymore," answered Jared._

_Molly, Ginny and Harry were listening intently, but saying nothing.__ Molly was having the hardest time not reaching out to her grandson to comfort him because his father was already doing it. _

_"Silly imp," chided Ron with a soft laugh. "Just because I get mad at you for doing something wrong doesn't mean that I don't love you. Or that I stop being your daddy. And sometimes when I get mad at you for doing something, it's for your own good. I will always be your daddy no matter what you do. Just remember this day when you get mad at me later on, all right?"_

_"Why would I get mad at you? You're my daddy! That's silly!" exclaimed Jared with a giggle as he adjusted his body so that his knees where on Ron's lap. Jared placed his hands on his father's broad shoulders and planted a kiss on his nose. "My daddy!" he declared as he threw his arms around Ron's neck. _

_"Yes, he is," agreed Molly with a smile. _

"I can't stand him, Hermione," muttered Ron as he looked towards Jared who wasn't doing anything, drinking some water while watching Harry and Neville make a fire.

"You don't even know him, Ron. And what did he do now that annoys you?" asked Hermione exasperatedly.

"I feel like I know him sometimes," admitted Ron almost reluctantly. Hermione gave him a quizzical look, but didn't say anything. The rest of the Gryffindors were keeping busy by setting up the rest of their camp. They were talking amongst themselves just like Ron and Hermione. Jared resisted the urge to look at them from time to time, and if he did, Harry was sure to stop him.

The campout proceeded as soon as Professor De Luca had a chance to look over the tents. The Ravenclaws did the best job out of all of the campers, while the Gryffindors came in at a close second. Hufflepuff did decently, but Slytherin had the most problems. Draco and the rest of his housemates had the hardest time because very few of them wanted to do the work and they had spent most of their time arguing with each other. Therefore, they had gotten very little done.

Jared wasn't used to camping anymore than Ron was. Sure, his Muggle grandparents took him camping before, but that was a long time ago and it was when he was much younger. He and Harry stuck together, while Jared left Hermione and Ron alone for the time being again.

"For tonight, each camp will be receiving a bundle of food that you will have to prepare for yourselves. You must decide how it will be prepared. If some of you can use your wands, then do so. If not, then I suggest you figure out how to cook it. Just make sure no one gets sick," instructed Professor De Luca with a smirk on his face that Jared really wanted to wipe off. "Get started. Some of you will need more time than others." Professor De Luca didn't bother to look towards the Slytherin, but there were some mocking snickers from the other houses.

Each house received a bundle of food, which Jared immediately snatched away from Hermione's hands. "Jared!" she exclaimed indignantly.

"I don't think so," said Jared forcefully. Harry coughed to signal him to let go of the bundle. Jared countered him with a glare.

"Give me that!" ordered Hermione as she grabbed the bundle from Jared's hands. She stalked off in the opposite direction.

Harry whispered in Jared's ear, "You know better than to disagree with her. Shouldn't you know that by now?"

"Why do you think I was trying to get the bundle from her? She can't cook," answered Jared in an equally low whisper. "You don't know that yet. You should cook. You're a better cook than either of them."

Harry gave him a wry smile. He was about to say something, but Ron was walking up to them. "What are you two whispering about?" he asked, casting a look at both of them.

"Nothing," replied Harry and Jared in unison.

"Yeah, right," muttered Ron as he squarely looked at Jared. "What are you really up to?" His question was directed towards Jared specifically, who didn't look at all fazed. In fact, Jared was giving him an innocent grin.

"What he said," answered Jared as he jerked his thumb towards Harry.

"Why don't you go and help Hermione with the cooking?" suggested Harry to Jared, knowing what would happen next.

"No," interrupted Ron before Jared could respond, "I'll go and help her. You just stay here."

As soon as Ron was out of earshot, Jared asked, "What's wrong with him?"

"He thinks you're interested in Hermione," replied Harry.

Jared gave him a wide eyed look and hung his tongue out in disgust. "But she's—that's just sick! That's just wrong!" Harry was beside himself with laughter. The others were staring at them as he continued laughing. "Blah!" spat Jared.

"What are you two doing?" asked Hermione as she and Ron looked at them. "Harry, you need to stop laughing. And what's really wrong with you, Jared?"

"Nothing," repeated Harry and Jared in unison again.

When the meal was prepared the only two people smart enough not to consume any of it were Harry and Jared. Ron was the first one to eat some of Hermione's cooking and he nearly choked on it. "Ugh—I mean…um…" stammered Ron as he glanced at Hermione. She gave him a sharp look. "It's _good_."

"Really?" asked Hermione.

Jared avoided Hermione's gaze, so did Ron. Harry was chuckling under his breath because of the striking similarity between the father and son. Hermione wasn't noticing Jared's body language at all. All of her attention was focused on Ron, who was practically squirming under her gaze. "_Yes_," answered Ron.

"Harry, why aren't you eating?" asked Hermione. Harry looked down and gingerly spooned up the mixture. He closed his eyes and attempted to swallow it without tasting. "Well?"

"Um…it's interesting," answered Harry neutrally. "Isn't it, Jared?"

Jared nodded without verbalizing anything. Hermione placed her hands on her hips as she eyed him. "You didn't eat any of it," she pointed out.

"How do you know that?" asked Jared as he spooned around the bowl. "You were too busy with Ron to see me eat it."

"Why don't you eat more of it?" asked Ron.

Jared glanced at both his parents and cast a pleading look towards Harry to rescue him. "Look, most people can tell if something is good or not by smell. After all those two senses are tied together very closely. I'm sorry, but I can't eat this."

Hermione looked absolutely furious for a split second before she calmed herself down and managed to say, "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. One person isn't enough for me to get upset."

"How about a whole sick camp of people?" quipped Jared thoughtlessly. Hermione glared at him, but he stared at her innocently. "Or something like that."

"Hermione, calm down," said Ron bracingly. He was getting ready to stop her if he needed to. "Why are you listening to him?"

Before anyone could say anything else, Professor De Luca summoned them all together again. This time his announcement was short. He explained the next day's activities, which turned out to be a different obstacle course than the one that Jared had tested out for him. He sent the different houses off to decide how they would be paired off.

When they got back Harry decided that he would pair off with Neville and Jared, leaving Ron and Hermione together. Lavender and Parvati were one pair, while Dean and Seamus were the last team. Jared made an odd number of people, so there had to be a three person team.

Everyone went to sleep, waiting anxiously for the next days activities.

The following morning was somewhat difficult for everyone. The first people up were Jared and Harry. They quickly got out of their sleeping bags and went towards the edge of the forest under the pretense of gathering more wood for the fire. It was there that they were able to have another conversation.

"So, do you have any idea how much time you have?" asked Harry, stooping down to pick up a piece of dried bark.

"Time is relative for me, isn't it?" answered Jared. "I don't know why you put them together for the obstacle course. They're not going to get together for a couple more years, so there's really no point in forcing them together now."

"I didn't really force them together," insisted Harry with a shrug. "They went together on their own."

"After you gave them no choice," countered Jared with a smirk. "I guess we'll have to see if they'll kill each other or not. Of course, in the future, they really still argue a lot."

"Really? I thought that they'd settle things before you come along."

"Not really, but it's really my dad just teasing her."

"I figure as much. That's really how they are."

"Let's head back."

When they came back, Ron and Hermione looked like they were having a private conversation of their own. They gave Harry an accusatory look; as if he was he was consorting with the enemy. Harry merely dismissed it.

Professor De Luca was already up and giving them instructions, "Today each house will go into the obstacle course. As you can see, Hagrid was nice enough to construct part of this maze with the assistance of Professor Sprout. That was how the obstacle course was arrange so easily."

"If there's something of Hagrid's in there…" started Neville in a whisper to Jared, who was nodding. He signaled Neville to be quiet.

"Each house has to go through the different entries. The order of which house goes first will be based on the number of points thus far. The order is as follows: Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Let's begin."

Everyone held their breath waiting for their turn to go in. It didn't take long. Jared watched as Ron and Hermione were summoned up. Jared, Harry, and Neville would be last. He should have spent more time watching them.

Because they wouldn't be coming out for a while.

* * *

AN: The flashback is important because it establishes the type of relationship that Jared and Harry have. Would anyone out there disagree with me when I think that Ron and Hermione's verbal tussling is a form of flirting? Yes, they have just gotten into a trap. It won't be long for them to figure it out.

Please go to my web journal if you are interested in some pictures that I made in Sims 2. I made up the Weasleys as I have written them for this story. Jared's a baby in the game. He's causing a lot of trouble…you can read some of Jared's antics in the journal as a Sim.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission. 


	12. A Stroll

Temporal Flux

Chapter Twelve: A Stroll

Ron and Hermione entered the maze without any hesitation, but after a minute they realized how quiet it was. She gave him a glance as they walked onward in silence. It didn't take long for them to realize that they hadn't seen anyone come in or run into the others inside. "Ron, where's everyone?" asked Hermione, feeling the air around go cold with each second.

"Harry is right behind us. There's nothing to worry about," Ron hurriedly reassured her, but he didn't sound so sure of himself. "Let's keep moving. We're bound to run into someone sooner or later." Hermione merely nodded and followed him closely.

They continued for another ten minutes in silence until they stopped again. "Ron, we haven't seen anyone for a while now. We aren't in the maze anymore. Look around," whispered Hermione. Ron didn't answer her. He knew where they were headed. "This isn't part of the maze at all. How did we get here?"

"I have no idea," replied Ron. "But we're in the Forbidden Forest. I've been wondering how long before we'd have to go in here."

"What is that supposed to mean?" snapped Hermione.

Ron gave her a grin as he explained, "Well, almost every year one way or another, one of us ends up going in here with Harry one way or another. It was you last year with the centaurs and Hagrid's brother."

"We really didn't go in the year before that," corrected Hermione. "We did that our third year."

"I went in with Harry on the second. We had to go looking for the spiders," said Ron as he glanced around nervously. "Didn't Jared say that there were spiders in this thing?"

"I think he meant the maze. Ron, I don't think we're supposed to be here."

"I'm not sure. What if everyone went out in different directions?"

"Ron, even Professor De Luca with his eccentrics wouldn't put any student through the Forbidden Forest. Every year, Professor Dumbledore warns us, so the faculty has to listen, too."

Ron heard something snapping, like footsteps on twigs. He stopped, drew his wand, and shield Hermione with his arm, stopping her from walking ahead of him. She drew a long breath and looked around her. She gripped his hand tightly when something came out of the darkness. A hooded figure came at them.

Harry, Neville, and Jared had walked in together with their wands drawn. They immediately ran into Seamus and Dean who had stopped for a little bit after the former had tripped and hurt his knee. "Are you guys all right?" asked Jared as he came to their assistance. "Do you want to turn back?"

"No, we have to finish this," insisted Seamus as he grimace when Jared pressed a piece of his outer robes to stop the bleeding.

"You know Hermione can do a better job at this than any of us. I'm sure of it," pointed out Jared without looking at anyone in particular.

"We didn't see them come in," Dean informed them. Jared stopped and looked up at him, so he repeated, "Ron and Hermione never came in."

"That's impossible," muttered Harry. "They were right ahead of us. We're supposed to be right behind them. What about Lavender and Parvati?"

"They went up ahead of us. We told them to. At least we have a chance of they can figure their way through the maze," answered Seamus as Jared secured a bandage.

Harry looked around and finally his eyes settled on Jared. "I'm sure they're all right. Are you all right, Jared?"

Neville spoke up, "We should keep moving. Professor De Luca said that there were different ways to get through the maze we just have to find it. Maybe, Ron and Hermione took a different way. They might get through the maze before anyone else in Gryffindor."

Jared got to his feet and stepped forward without glancing at the others. They followed him after one glance back. "We have to get moving. The sooner we get through this, the sooner we'll see everyone at the end."

Ron had his wand ready for anything, and Hermione was right behind her. They ducked their heads when they saw it was only a swarm of bats. "It's daytime. How can they be out?" observed Hermione.

"How can you bloody tell it's daytime when the trees are so tall they cover the sky?" retorted Ron, rather annoyed.

"Ron, we should go back in the opposite direction we came from. We're obviously just getting deeper and deeper into the forest."

"We have no idea where we are. When we walked in, we thought were walking into the maze. Just because we go back in the opposite direction, doesn't mean we go back to where we started. If there's anything more obvious than the fact that we're going deeper and deeper into the forest, it's the fact that it looks like we walked into a trap."

"Why would anyone want us to walk into a trap? Who would have the power to do that, especially in front of Professor De Luca?"

"Someone who wanted us to separate from the others. And I'm thinking someone who knows more than he seems."

Hermione immediately knew who Ron was talking about, "You mean Jared Blake did this? That's insane, Ron."

"Is it? He was the one who tested the damn obstacle course in the first place, Hermione. He could have done something to it while he was in it," argued Ron. "Why is it so hard for you to accept the fact that he's not what he seems?"

"Because you said so yourself, he seems familiar somehow. I can't help, but think that he's not out to get anyone, especially Harry. They're getting along right now. Are you telling me that you're jealous because Harry and him started spending a lot of time together since yesterday?"

"No. That's not why," answered Ron after some hesitation. "Okay, maybe. Last year, he was so mad at us. I mean Harry. He wouldn't confide in us. I mean we lied to him because Dumbledore told us not to tell him anything. That's still a lie. Even before yesterday, Jared and Harry get along. It was right away."

"And I was spending my time with him, too," added Hermione. "Why don't you get to know Jared, too? Maybe, if you didn't you wouldn't feel left out. And another thing about Harry, last year he wasn't the easiest person for anyone to get along with. I mean he was fighting more than just Voldemort last year or any of his followers. He was fighting wizarding society. It's easy for you, Ron. You were born and raised into this world. Harry spent most of his childhood feeling unaccepted in the Muggle world, and then last year, he experienced it in this one."

Ron paused for a moment and took a long look at Hermione. "Is it hard for you, Hermione? I mean going back and forth."

"I feel more comfortable in the wizarding world. I never understood why I felt so different until that letter. But, yeah it's hard. I can't really explain to my parents and I can't tell the rest of my family anything. But this isn't about me right now. We're talking about Harry. He's got a temper worse than yours when he's mad."

Ron gave her a lopsided grin. The same as the one that Jared had given Ginny earlier. "You forget something. His mother had red hair."

"Are you implying that Harry has a bad temper because his mother had red hair? I mean that's just a stereotype Ron. You just have a bad temper because you have a bad disposition," insisted Hermione with a laugh.

"Look, it's not just a stereotype. Look at Harry. Getting black hair from his father was just a good way for him to cover up his temper," said Ron as he chuckled.

Hermione started really laughing, "I can't believe you. We're lost and you're making jokes. But if what you say about red hair is true, then one of Jared's parents has to have red hair because he's got a bad temper, too. Look what happened to Malfoy." She stopped laughing as she looked at Ron's side profile for a moment.

"What is it?" asked Ron.

"Nothing," answered Hermione. She pulled the lock of her hair behind her ear as she changed the subject, "Ron, I'm worried. What if we're really in trouble here?"

"Do you honestly think I would let anything hurt you?" asked Ron.

Hermione shook her head as she replied, "I trust you."

Jared strode ahead of the others. Neville and Dean were supporting Seamus and they were having the most difficulty keeping up. Harry was right behind Jared, saying, "Slow down, Jared. Seamus' hurt."

"We need to get out of here. We've wasted enough time," muttered Jared under his breath. He was very worried about his parents.

"We're not going to hurt Seamus more by forcing him to go faster," argued Harry. He sighed as he glanced at the Neville. "You're part of our team, Neville. What do you want to do?"

"I think you should go up ahead," answered Neville. "I'll stay here and help Dean and Seamus."

"I don't need help," said Seamus as he winced.

"We can handle this," insisted Dean.

Neville shook his head. "I'll stay," he said firmly as he glanced at Harry and Jared. Jared didn't bother to turn around. "You'd better get moving. I don't know where the rest of the class it, but we don't want the Slytherin to win, do we?"

Harry nodded in agreement as he glanced at Jared again. "Let's go, Jared. We'll see you at the finishing line. We'll leave you a trail to follow."

"All right. See you later," said Neville, giving them a grin as they walked away.

Hermione studied the bottom of a tree. She sighed as she looked at Ron. "I don't know what direction the moss is growing. I never thought I'd have to figure out what direction the castle was in."

"We're not trying to go to the castle. We're trying to go in the opposite direction," muttered Ron impatiently.

"That's why I'm trying to figure out what the direction the castle is in," said Hermione irritably. "What do you suggest we do? Do you have any idea where we are, other than lost?"

"You don't have to bite my head off," retorted Ron. "Like I told you before, I wouldn't let anything happen to you. I thought you trusted me."

Hermione nodded as she ran her fingers through her hair. "I'm just frustrated," she muttered. "Everyone's got to be through that maze by now."

A crow was lurking in the highest tree branches. It's black eyes focused on the pair as the continued to find their way through the forest. The crow's eyes fell upon Hermione and it let out a loud caw of disapproval. _Mudblood__ Bitch. _Ron glanced up at the crow. Something came over him. A very bad feeling.

Hermione felt Ron clamp his hands over her shoulders. "What is it?" she asked in alarm. Ron hushed her. She stared at him so intently with wide eyes that she didn't notice him lower his hand to flick his wrist to make sure he was armed with his wand. "It was just a crow, Ron. Put your wand away. You're going to hurt someone," whispered Hermione harshly. It turned out that Ron had the good idea.

An orb of light came from the treetops, just barely missing them. Ron pulled Hermione behind him. "Who's there?" demanded Ron as he brandished his wand towards the trees where the spell had come from. "_Expelliarmus_" he shouted, but no wand came to him.

A crow cawed and dove for their heads. Hermione screamed in surprised as she drew her wand. "_Avis!_" she shouted, conjuring birds to deflect the attacking crow. The birds surrounded and protected Ron and Hermione temporarily. "What is going on?"

"I don't know, but I don't think this was part of Professor De Luca's campout," answered Ron. "I think we should get moving. Before something else comes after us. Now do you believe when I said this was a trap?"

"Yes," agreed Hermione without hesitation. "But I still don't think that Jared's responsible for this."

Ron stared at her for a moment, marveling at her stubbornness. He shook his head to stop himself from starting another argument, especially another one about Jared. Thus, he said, "I think we should get out of here first before we decide who started this whole thing."

"We should just go back to the castle. I've never been this far into the woods before," said Hermione.

"Neither have I," admitted Ron. "I hope we run into someone friendly to us or to the school."

"Me, too," agreed Hermione. "What are we going to do if we can't get out of here?"

Ron gave a smile as he jokingly replied, "What's so wrong with being just with me?" The look on his face was so reminiscent of Jared that Hermione blinked at him. "Why are looking at me like that? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's just that I've been getting this weird feeling of déjà vu lately," answered Hermione.

"So, do I," said Ron as he looked at her. He was leaning in close towards her face. He lowered his head, closing in on her face. Their lips were mere inches away from each other. Suddenly, Ron pulled back away from Hermione, his ears were reddening. He cleared his throat and ran his fingers through his hair as he turned his head away from her.

"Ron, I think there's something out here to get us," said Hermione as she looked around anxiously.

"And you're worried that since Harry isn't here, we're in trouble," supplied Ron with a sigh. "Every time you get into trouble, he's almost always the first person you call on."

Hermione placed her hands on her hips as she said, "I don't always rely on him, Ron. It's just that he has more experience with this kind of thing than we do."

Ron shook his head, "He's got more than I do, Hermione."

"You're talking about money. Harry doesn't have what you have. You have a family that loves you. And how do you know that you won't make something of yourself someday? I think you've got a great chance of becoming an Auror. Is that what you want to be still?"

"I wouldn't be in Snape's class if I didn't want to be one. You know what I've never heard what you wanted to be."

"To tell you the truth, I really don't know," admitted Hermione. She laughed at the look on Ron's face. "Yeah, pretty hard to believe, isn't it? I'm always the one with a goal or a plan, but things changed for me. Both my parents are dentists, so I thought that I would be one, too. But when I found out that I was a witch, a whole different world of possibilities opened up for me. I have a feeling that I may just end up falling into my career."

"Is there anything you've got planned for the future?"

"Getting married and having a family of my own. What about you?"

"I don't know if I'll have a family as big as mine. I don't know who would want to have me. I really don't have much to offer."

"Not yet, but any girl would be a fool not to notice your potential," pointed out Hermione confidently as she gazed at him. "And some of what you've got isn't just potential. I wouldn't pay any attention to what that girl from Ravenclaw said."

"So, Ginny told you, didn't she?" said Ron sheepishly. "I guess it's better that she told you than me."

"No one had to tell me anything," said Hermione.

"Oh," mouthed Ron without actually saying anything. They continued to walk on, but they stopped when they saw the tops of a familiar sight. Ron smiled as he told Hermione, "Look, it's the Quidditch field. I'd know that anywhere. I fly there every week. Almost everyday."

"Thank goodness," sighed Hermione with relief.

"Yeah, thank goodness," agreed Ron. Yet both of them didn't express any of the feelings they had towards each other the entire time. They didn't give any indication of the affections they had for one another. That was the reason why their would be attacker decided to delay his attack.

"What do you mean you didn't see them come through here?" fumed Jared at Professor De Luca. The DADA professor regarded him calm as he continued, "Are they only ones who didn't get out of that maze? That's impossible."

"I'll use the shortcuts that I put in the maze and search for them," Professor De Luca assured Jared as he drew out his wand. "Everyone stay where you are. If anyone moves from here, you will have detention." Not even the Slytherins could say anything because of the professor's tone. He walked up to the maze and uttered the spell to unlock the secret passages all at once. "It shouldn't take that long. With the passages opened, they shouldn't have much trouble getting out."

Jared paced a little bit, appearing so much more worried than anyone else. Harry cleared his throat and when Jared didn't acknowledge him, he said, "Stop that. People are starting to look."

"What's so wrong, Blake?" drawled Draco with his arms folded over his chest without looking at Jared. "You're worried that Weasley's got his hands on Granger?"

"If I didn't think that I would get into any trouble or that there was any hope for you, I would make it so that you would see tomorrow," retorted Jared as he glared at him. He would have said more, but Harry threw Jared a look that stopped him.

"Come on, Jared," urged Harry as he veered him away from Draco and the others. They walked a little bit before he started whispering to Jared, "What was that all about?"

"He's my professor," answered Jared under his breath. He almost relished seeing Harry's eyes widened. "Before, you guess Potions, he's my Transfiguration professor."

"Unbelievable," breathed Harry in utter surprise. "I thought he bought his grades."

"Headmistress McGonagall appointed him after she became head of the school, which wasn't too long before Dumbledore passed away," revealed Jared. "So, Malfoy was there before I started at the school. I'm sorry my tense is all wrong. Everything is in past tense for me, while I should be saying in future tense now for you. It's one of the annoying things about time travel."

Harry couldn't help but grin as he pointed out, "You sound like your mother. Pointing out grammar at a time like this is so much like her. I don't think anything's happened to them. You wouldn't be here still if something had."

"That's true," agreed Jared. "I have a vested interest in what happens to them after all, if anything happens to them—"

"Nothing is going to happen to them," interrupted Harry in a reassuring tone.

Ron and Hermione both gave sighs of relief when they saw the high turrets of the Quidditch field. Neither thought of the strange goings on that they had encountered in the Forbidden Forest because they were too relieve to be out of it. "Just once, I would like it very much if neither you, Harry, nor me end up there," muttered Hermione.

"We're out now. That's all that matters," said Ron as he glanced around him. "We should get back to the camp site. I don't want to even think of what they're probably saying about us."

Hermione glanced at him and started to grin at him. "What do you think they're going to say about us? That you and I ran off together?"

Ron turned bright red at her comment as he sputtered, "N-no, that's not it."

"What you don't think I have a chance?" asked Hermione, appearing quite harmless at the moment. She was enjoying seeing him getting all flustered on her account. He was cute when he got like that. However, she soon realized how uncomfortable he was, so she said, "Come on, Ron, we've been friends for years now. I don't think they're going to say anything about us. They'll probably say we just got lost."

"Yeah, that's it," responded Ron. He hadn't answered her question. The truth was he didn't want to say that he didn't have a chance with her. He didn't have the personality or the social skills. He wasn't as smart nor as rich as her. It wasn't all that hard for him to conclude that he didn't have a chance.

"There you are," said Professor De Luca, immediately getting their attention. "I've been looking for you. How did you end up here?"

It was Hermione who answered for them, "We have no idea, but we just got out of the end of the Forbidden Forest."

The professor looked a bit startled at Hermione's explanation. He looked around him and felt a chill go through him. He was definitely sensing something out there. "Let's head back to camp. We'll take the long way. You've been through the forest enough to day." They nodded.

It didn't take very long to get back to camp and on the way, they talked about what had happened in the forest. When they reached the camp the first person to greet them was Jared. "Are you all right? What happen?" he asked anxiously.

Hermione glanced at Ron briefly, wondering if he was going to confront Jared. Neither of them told Professor De Luca that they thought Jared had something to do with what happened to them in the forest. However, this time Ron's eyes locked with Jared's. He found himself startled by them. They were alight with concern.

"We got lost," replied Ron.

* * *

AN: This chapter features some of the best dialogue yet. At least I think so. This is the time where Ron and Hermione have a chance to compare notes on their little boy. And there is another example of why Harry and Jared get along so well. They have so much in common. Seeing Jared grow up, gives Harry the chance to see what it would have been like for him to be raised by his parents.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission. 


	13. Temporal Flux Theory

Temporal Flux

Chapter Thirteen: Temporal Flux Theory

The rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful. Harry had to spend that time as a buffer between Jared and his parents. Of course, he was starting to come to the conclusion that when two stubborn people reproduce, the end result would be an extremely obstinate offspring. Harry wondered how he didn't notice before just how much Jared resembled his parents and why he hadn't made the connection then.

Jared sensed the tension between himself and Ron and Hermione. He was sure they were suspicious of him, so he kept his distance from them. Part of him was glad that they seemed closer together than they did before, but another part of him didn't like the fact that they only bonded against him. His own conclusion was the one that most children had in regards to their parents: they're strange people.

There was also Ginny to think of. Jared wondered how far along she had gotten in her investigation of Magus. Did she get anywhere? Truth be told, he had almost completely forgotten about her all together. He told Harry that Ginny was looking for Magus and Harry agreed to help them out as soon as the weekend was over.

The best thing Harry could do was keep Ron and Hermione distracted for Jared, which he was more than willing to oblige. After all, he was going to be Jared's godfather. He was sure that Ron and Hermione would forgive him soon afterwards if they ever figure out what was really happening. Above all, Harry didn't want anything happening to them.

When the weekend was over, Jared and Harry decided to meet with Ginny together so that Ron wouldn't get suspicious of Jared meeting with Ginny alone. They would have to compare notes because Harry got almost the fully story of what happened in the forest from Ron. Unfortunately, there wasn't much news.

"You mean you couldn't find anything on him?" asked Jared.

Ginny nodded solemnly. "I tried, but I just couldn't find anything on him. I feel like we're running out of time or something. And after what happened during the campout, we know that he's getting closer and closer."

"They're obviously not safe on the school grounds," agreed Harry. "The best thing we can do is make sure that they don't get into a trap. Do you have any other clues?"

"I have my mum's journal," replied Jared. "She kept one throughout her time in Hogwarts. During her first few months her, she considered it the only friend she had until that Hollow's Eve you fought that troll."

Harry smiled ruefully. "Ron called Hermione a nightmare and said that was the reason why she didn't have any friends," he said fondly. "He said that after he got partnered with her in Charms when we were learning how to do levitation spell. Hermione was able to do it before everyone else in the class and she didn't come from a wizarding family."

"I was able to do it first, too," said Jared almost cheerfully. A grin never made it to his face instead he looked almost sad.

"We'll find out how he's getting so close and we'll find a way to stop him before he does anything. If we don't, you won't be born," said Ginny as she placed her hand on top of his. "I won't get to see how cute you'll be."

"Actually, you can," said Jared as he pulled out his mother's journal. "He must have slipped it in here. It's his favorite baby picture of me. He normally has it on his desk in his office at the Aurors." Jared opened the journal to where the picture was. He handed it to Ginny to look at. "He's not even in it."

Ginny smiled a little as she looked at the little baby with his mother. "Ron took this picture, didn't he?" Jared nodded. "You look so cute and your mum looks like she's positively glowing. How old are you in this picture?"

"I think I'm a week old," answered Jared as Ginny passed it to Harry. He looked at it for a while, too. "That's in front of the house that we live in. My dad bought it before he and my mum got married." He was currently speaking in his natural voice because it was easier on him and it gave him break from doing his American accent. "He said it was a wedding present."

"Ron gave Hermione a house as a wedding present?" asked Ginny with utter surprise. "I didn't know Aurors made that much money."

"Actually, when they start, they don't. You never got the feeling that the Ministry pays its employees enough money. I mean Granddad had to make the money stretch among the lot of you. There was seven of you after all," pointed out Jared. "I'm a rarity in the family for more than one reason."

"Well, you're already so unique," said Ginny.

"What do you mean?" asked Harry with genuine curiosity.

"I'm an only child and the only half-blood in the family," replied Jared. "Of course, I have tons of cousins, so it's never very hard to find a playmate."

"That is weird," snorted Ginny. "I would have thought at least more than one of us would have married out or mated out if that would be the case. Who do I end up with?" She leaned forward at Jared who pulled back from her. "Never mind. I don't think I want to know."

"Yeah…anyway, I'm an only child because my mum couldn't have more than one. She almost died having me. My dad was dead set against having any kids if it meant my mum risking her life, so he was so against it that he said he didn't want any kids at all. Mum wanted to have a baby of her own. She wasn't happy watching everyone else and just being an aunt. Of course, she wanted to have a baby with my dad, so she had to gain his cooperation."

Ginny laughed. "Ron can be pretty stubborn if he wants to be. How'd Hermione pull it off?"

"I'm not sure to tell you the truth, but I believe that my dad was tricked into it," replied Jared with a shrug. "My dad was pissed off after he found out. To put it mildly, but he gave in before I was born. I think my Papa straightened him out."

"Papa?" echoed Harry with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, my mum's dad. I call my maternal grandparents, Papa and Nana. I call my paternal grandparents, Granddad and Grandmum," revealed Jared as he continued explaining. "Papa and Dad get along great, especially after they decided to get along against my great-grandmother. They don't like her, but she does tend to be a bit overwhelming. She doesn't like anyone who marries into the family. No one's good enough for her daughter or granddaughter. Muggles aren't that different from wizards after all."

"Does she know about the magic?" asked Harry. He sort of laughed, "Does she like you?

"Nope, they decided not to tell her. Papa said that she'd probably blame him for her granddaughter being a witch. She happens to adore me. I'm her blood relative after all. She calls me her little prince."

Ginny shook her head. "If you ask me, you're a little spoiled. I mean look at you. You're wearing much newer clothes than most of us Weasleys."

"My clothes are my mum's doing. She drags me off to go clothes shopping before school every year. We wouldn't have to do it every bloody year if it wasn't for the damn growth spurts that I got from my dad. Did you know he's still growing? Everyone keeps telling me that I'm going to be as big as him."

"Aw…poor baby, having to go clothes shopping," teased Ginny.

"It's embarrassing and the worst part is Dad lets her drag me shopping," exclaimed Jared, while Harry spent that part of the conversation laughing. "He says I should be happy to have new clothes. I just want to go shopping without her. Stop laughing, Harry."

"I'm sorry. Let's go back to the business at hand, shall we?" asked Harry. Jared was just as sensitive as Ron when it came to teasing, so Harry decided to give his godson a break. They were currently meeting in the Room of Requirements because it had everything that they needed. Jared got up and started looking around until he found something that he needed. "What is it?"

"I need a Sugar Quill," answered Jared as he smiled at the box he found. "I have a sweet tooth." He opened it and took out a quill.

"What are we going to do next? We need to find Magus before he tries again," said Ginny, switching back to a serious mode. "We can't just wait around for the next move to happen. Maybe we should tell your parents that way they could help us."

"No, absolutely not," said Jared firmly as he shook his head. "I don't think it's a good idea. And they probably don't know anymore than we do anyway."

"How do you know that?" asked Harry as he flipped through Hermione's diary. He wasn't really reading it, but he was paying attention to the dates to figure out which part to read. "How is this diary supposed to help us?"

"Temporal Flux Theory, Harry," stated Jared in an almost bored tone. "It becomes one of the pioneering fields of study in the wizarding world. The ideal that time is in a constant state of flux or movement. If this happened before, that means that I've been back in the past because I'm from the future."

"Okay, that makes sense," said Ginny sarcastically.

"I think I understand. You're already here, and this is the past for you. That means that any odd things would be somewhere in this journal," said Harry as he looked through it. "Here's something about you."

Jared said, "I already read that. I'm a little uncomfortable reading it. It's my mum's journal after all."

"I really don't want to read this either," agreed Harry as he skimmed it. "I feel like I'm invading her privacy or something."

"Oh for the love of Merlin, give me that," exclaimed Ginny as she grabbed the book out of Harry's hands. He was staring at his once occupied for moment as she started reading it. "I don't have any problem reading this thing."

"I don't want to read anything personal about my mum," muttered Jared defensively. He shifted uncomfortably.

"You don't want to know your mum's a woman," said Ginny knowingly. "You're just as bad as your dad. It took Ron four years to realize that Hermione was a girl."

Jared retorted, "She's not a woman. She's my mother."

"Um...isn't that one of the reasons why your father married her?" asked Harry jokingly. "It's not that he didn't notice she was a girl. He just noticed when it was convenient. I'm not even going to ask how long it took to sort it all out. What we need now is a plan."

"I'll keep reading this journal for right now and I'll keep it out of sight from other people," said Ginny. "Halloween is coming up, so we'll have some time during the celebrations to come up with something else. Another weekend at Hogsmeade is coming up. During that weekend, maybe you can take a trip to London."

"I could go with you," offered Harry. "I can travel back and forth between both the Muggles and wizards."

"There are some advantages to being half-bloods," agreed Jared. "But I think they're going to notice that we're gone."

"Not if I have something to do with it," said Ginny confidently. "You two worry about how you're going to get through and find out how are you going to do it."

"So, what we have here is a half plan?" concluded Jared. "I guess half a plan is better than no plan at all."

"That's optimistic of you," observed Harry. "Okay, now let's get our stories straight for when we go back there. Ginny, what are you going to tell your brother?"

"I was in the library studying for the O.W.Ls," replied Ginny. "And what were you two doing?" She asked this question as she put Hermione's journal into her notebook.

"I'll be coming back from the pitch," said Harry. He was dressed in his practice clothes and had his broomstick. "Jared was out near the lake. You do like to hang out there." Jared nodded. "Who should get back there first?"

"Um…I think I should go back first and get their attention that way you can come in. We'll keep them both distracted, then Jared can slip in unnoticed," answered Ginny.

"I never you had such a sneaky streak, Ginny," complemented Harry. "I probably shouldn't be surprised. You are a Weasley after all. Which makes me wonder what happened to Ron."

"He's the honest one," said Jared. "I'm not saying that I'm more Weasley than he is, but remember I've inherited the ability to be a smart alec from my mum."

"They do make a beautiful couple," said Ginny with a sigh as she wore a dreamy expression. She shook it off immediately when she looked at Jared who was giving her a blank look. "Anyway, let's head back now."

The next few days were quieter as Ginny read Hermione's journal. Most of the entries weren't that exciting at first, but Ginny carefully read them. She was reading all the way back to the beginning of the school year. They got interesting as Ginny read along. One of the entries was about Hermione's reaction to Ron's date with that Ravenclaw. That was what piqued Ginny's interest.

Soon Ginny found that she was reading the passages about Hermione's still developing feelings. There was a lot of self denial going on and from Ginny's perspective it wasn't just going on with just Hermione. Ginny didn't know that Ron had gotten Hermione a birthday present. Unlike Harry, Ginny held no reservations of spying on her brother's love life and she already knew that Hermione was going to become her sister anyway.

The passages about the Forbidden Forest were almost exactly as Harry had told Jared and Ginny, but Hermione and Ron had left out what was happening between the two of them. As Hermione wrote:

_I'm tired of Ron putting himself down. He does it all the time. He's always thinking about how having no money will keep him from getting anything. I would like him to see him just as I see him. This is so stupid. He's stupid. _

_I'm not that shallow and I'm not that much into having things. There is only a few things I want, but he can't see that. There's no hope for him._

Ginny wanted to laugh at that last part. Obviously, Hermione didn't mean it. If anyone out there had faith in Ron, it was her. She was just frustrated with him. The hardest part of the whole thing for Ginny was keeping such a juicy secret. She wanted to tell Ron just to see his reaction to it.

But Ron wasn't going to find out, if Jared could help it. He was avoiding Ron, but it wasn't that easy to do. They were sleeping in the same dorm and they inevitable ran into each other regular. It came to a head at the stairs the following evening.

"I'm sorry," said Jared on his way down the stairs, running to Ron who was going up them.

"Yeah," said Ron. They both shifted aside to let the other pass, but they had shifted in the same direction. "Do you mind getting out of my way?" Ron's voice sounded a bit angry at that point as far as he knew Jared was monopolizing Harry's time.

"I was coming down first," pointed out Jared.

"No, I was going up," argued Ron.

Jared rolled his eyes as he normally did when his father said something infuriatingly stupid. He responded stubbornly by putting his arms outwards, blocking Ron's way almost entirely, "We're halfway on the stairs. And I was going down them, so I have the right of way."

"You don't have the bloody right of way," growled Ron. Jared being well acquainted with Ron's temper looked unfazed. "Let me through."

"You let me through first," muttered Jared.

"For the love of Merlin!" exclaimed Ginny as she stalked up to the bottom of the stairs. "This is stupid. One of you should be nice and let the other through." She looked at them. At that moment, they were remarkably similar. She sighed as she said, "Jared, let Ron up now."

Jared glared at her because he felt like he was winning, but he moved aside anyway. Ron went up the stairs, stomping all the way. "I knew you were going to take his side," said Jared in a low voice as he went down the rest of the steps.

"That was pointless, Jared," said Ginny. "You're as bad as he is. Why didn't you just let him through?"

"He should have let me through," argued Jared.

"Argh!" exclaimed Ginny as she threw her hands in the air and walked back to her books. "You're impossible!"

"Which one?" asked Jared, truly perplexed.

Ginny shouted back, "Both of you!" She continued to mutter under her breath. It sounded something like, "Just what I need. Two of you."

Harry and Hermione looked up from their books. Harry was snickering while Hermione was shaking her head at the situation. She was starting to get the feeling that she was being left out of a really good joke or something.

Meanwhile, Ron was up in the dorm to get something. He was also muttering under his breath about how much of a prick Jared was. He had to dig through his trunk for an extra quill because he had broken the tip off his. Jared spent most of his time up in the dorm studying away from everyone else. He only came down every once in a while to stretch his legs.

Ron noticed that Jared had left some of his homework on his bed. Ron walked up to the bed, not knowing why he was doing it exactly. Jared's handwriting was neat and looked as easy to read as Hermione's. His spelling was excellent, but there was something off about it.

Ron knew that Americans had a tendency to spell certain words differently from British English. He noticed that Jared had spelled the words in the British style and his grammar was the same way. For someone born and raised in America, Ron thought that was a bit unusually or perhaps Jared had adapted quickly to England.

The thing that jumped out at Ron was the some of Jared's notes were the abbreviations. They were identical to Hermione's. After years of borrowing her notes, Ron recognized them right away. Jared's abbreviations were exactly the same, and Ron hadn't seen him borrow anything from Hermione. Not once. Ron shook his head at his paranoia. He was looking into things too much. Ron grabbed his quill and went back down.

Jared was sitting by the fire when he came back down. Ron went back to Hermione and Harry. "Hermione, did you lend any notes to Jared?" Ron asked in a low voice, so that no one else could really hear him.

"No. He never asks," replied Hermione as she shook her head. "Why?"

"Nothing," answered Ron as he went back to his essay.

Harry almost stole a glance at Jared, but kept his head to his work. He had a feeling that Ron was closer to figuring out who Jared really was than anyone would have expected. Ron wasn't someone that should be underestimated. True, his grades didn't reflect it all the time, but Ron was better at school that Harry was. Harry always had other things on his mind though. And Harry was starting to think that Ron was just playing dumb to get Hermione's help on things and to spend time with her. It wasn't until recently did Harry notice that Ron was constantly doing things to get Hermione's reaction and attention. Whether it was on purpose or not could be debated.

Knowing about Jared gave Harry more insight on his best friends. He wasn't out of the loop by no means. In fact, he was always going to be in the loop. He was going to be the first person that they were going announce their engagement to, and he would be the first person to know about Hermione's pregnancy. He would be the first person alerted for almost any family crisis they would have and he would be Jared's godfather. All these things, kept Harry reassured and secure in his role as their best friend. Harry wasn't going to be on the sidelines looking in. He was going to always be a key player in their lives. In fact, he was closer to them than any brother could be. They were his family. And he was going to do everything in his power to protect them, even if they were never going to hear about it.

Some time later, when everyone else had gone to bed, there was another meeting. "Okay, did you decide how you were going to get out on Halloween?" asked Ginny.

"I think I know how we're going to get out of here," replied Jared. "Lucky for us, Halloween just falls before the Hogsmeade weekend."

"Then, you can leave Hogsmeade from there, but it's going to be tricky to do it. Any possible information on Magus would be in the Ministry and that's in London," pointed out Ginny.

"Or we could try something that won't get us expelled from Hogwarts," argued Harry. "I'm not saying that I'm willing to take the risk, but I thought you didn't want us to draw that much attention, Jared."

Jared raised his eyebrow at him and asked, "Then, what do you suggest?"

"We know people on the outside," replied Harry. "People we can trust."

"Who?"

"Remus Lupin. He might be willing to help us out."

Jared shook his head, "Moony's cool, but I don't know about telling him things."

"Moony?" asked Ginny with a raised eyebrow.

"I couldn't say Remus when I was younger," explained Jared.

Harry interrupted before the conversation could veer off into another topic again, "I think it would be safer for us and if we leave, they might catch us for sure. The only time that we can move around is when the holidays come up, but that's a long ways off. And there's something else that's bothering me."

"What?" asked Ginny and Jared in unison.

"I think that Ron's getting more and more suspicious. I think he might figure it," answered Harry.

Ginny laughed and scoffed at the very idea, "Please Ron wouldn't be able to figure it out in a million years." Harry shrugged as Jared didn't say anything. However, this would be one time that Ginny would be totally wrong.

* * *

AN: Most children have one parent that they have a harder time getting along with over the other. In Jared's case, Ron is the parent that he doesn't get along with so well because they are far too much alike. This chapter is just a tension building one between Ron and Jared. I think it's sad that only one person thought that Ron would be the one to find out next, but the fun here is how and when he gets 

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.


	14. Weasley Wizarding Wheezes

Temporal Flux

Chapter Fourteen: Weasley Wizarding Wheezes

"Today, there's a huge feast that we have every year," explained Ginny. "On the weekend, we're set to go to Hogsmeade. We normally get to go before this weekend, but with all the trouble, we can't."

"Because of You-Know-Who?" asked Jared, using the more commonly used moniker for Voldemort after a stern explanation from Ginny. They were having their current conversation at the Gryffindor Table in the dining hall. "I've never really seen Hogsmeade."

As Jared finished his sentence, the owls began flying in with the mail. Hermione received her copy of the _Daily Prophet_ as Harry got the piece of mail of that he, Ginny, and Jared were waiting for. He didn't even open it. Neither Ron nor Hermione asked about it because they were pouring over the newspaper.

Ginny, however, had a note that made her exclaim in utter delight, "Ron! Guess what?"

"What?" asked Ron.

"Fred and George are going to be in Hogsemeade this weekend. They'll be doing a demonstration of some of their new products," replied Ginny with a huge grin.

Jared perked up at the news. Of course, he had all of the exclusive products from the Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. It was one of the most successful businesses in the wizarding world, and Jared as a child was spoiled by his uncles who babysat him from time to time when he was younger. The rest of the Weasleys really overindulged Jared because he was the child that everyone was expecting.

"Why are you so happy?" demanded Ron as he stared straight at Jared. "You don't know Fred and George. And once you do, may not like them as much."

"They're legendary around here after the way they left," said Harry. "You haven't heard about that yet, have you?"

"No," said Jared. Of course, he had; it was a story he had heard many, many times. His grandmother was always trying to stop the story from being repeated in the hearing of the grandchildren.

"Why did they write?" asked Ron. "Why didn't they write me?"

"I don't know, but Fred said you must be busy with your prefect duties because you didn't write them," answered Ginny. "But they want to see us during the weekend, Ron."

Ron snorted. It wasn't that he wasn't happy with his brothers' success, but he had to deal with it the whole summer. He got more than his fill of it. They were helping out the family and they were partly the reason why Ron had some new things for the school year, even though their parents gave the reason of having less children to put through school.

"Would you like to meet them, Jared?" asked Ginny, knowing full well what the answer was going to be. He nodded. "Good, I'll introduce you."

"Wait!" exclaimed Ron. "You shouldn't be introducing him to anyone. What is going on between you two?" His eyes darted a little bit at Harry who just looked back at him.

"I don't see the harm, Ron," said Hermione as she folded up the newspaper. "If anything, shouldn't you be more worried about Jared than Fred and George."

Jared knew better than to just take anything that his uncles handed him. After so many tears and screams and his father getting angry with them for attempting to traumatize him, the twins always knew better than to antagonize Jared. "It's his funeral," said Ron as he shrugged. Jared had to admit that did make him a little nervous.

"Then, it's settled," said Ginny happily.

"It's not," said Hermione as she looked at Ron. "Professor Dumbledore has asked the prefects have a meeting that day, too. We'll be able to go as soon as the meeting's done, Ron."

Ron sighed and asked, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I just found out this morning and I wanted to put off the news as long as possible."

"Great."

Harry said, "I guess I'll go ahead with you and Jared, Ginny. I'll meet you in Hogsemeade. That is if you don't mind."

Ron was deciding what was worse: letting Jared go off with Ginny alone to meet Fred and George, or forcing Harry to wait for him and Hermione. Ron decided that it was best to have Harry go along with Jared and Ginny as a chaperone. "That's fine. I'm sure that the meeting shouldn't take that long, but why did Dumbledore wait until the weekend to have the meeting, Hermione?"

"It has something to do with what was in the paper this morning," said Hermione as she offered it up for everyone to see. She had folded it to a story. "There were attacks on Muggles in the surrounding areas."

"Why would anyone attack Muggles like that?" asked Ron as he skimmed the article.

"Hate crimes," answered Jared in a soft voice. "That's what." He wasn't even looking at the article. He seemed to stare off into space for a moment.

"Must be the Death Eaters," summarized Ron as he glanced at Hermione who seemed rather tense at the moment. "We're perfectly safe as long as we're in Hogwarts and even Hogsmeade is safe. If it wasn't Dumbledore wouldn't be sending us out there this weekend," he tempted to reassure her.

Malfoy was walking towards class at that moment and choose to say something, "Looks like all the Mudbloods, half-bloods, and Muggle lovers better watch themselves." He glanced at them. "Weasel, what are you going to do when they go after your friends, huh? You should really consider doing the smart thing. The pureblood thing."

Ron was on his feet before Hermione could say anything or stop him. Jared saw the look on his face. Any anger that Jared had immediately paled in comparison. The first time that Jared had ever seen that look on Ron's face was when he was just five years old. It was the first time that Jared had learned that he was different from other members of the Weasley family.

He had learned the word Mudblood for the first time when he was attending a very exclusive preschool for magically children. The Weasleys couldn't afford it before, but Jared was sent there because Ron and Hermione could. They wanted him to meet other magical children outside of the Weasley family and to also learn about wizarding society. He had proven to be the brightest child in his class, but during playtime none of the other children would play with him.

_"Mummy says you're a Mudblood. That means you're dirty."_

_"Your daddy's a blood traitor."_

_"Daddy says that people like you shouldn't exist. It's not right."_

_"Mudblood."_

Jared was unconsciously clutching his hands into fists. He had thrown the worst tantrum that his mother had ever seen when she asked him how his first day was. He kicked, screamed, and said he wouldn't go back. He refused to tell her what was wrong. It wasn't until his father came home that Jared asked him what a blood traitor was. Jared clutched his jaw as his whole body went rigid.

Harry was sitting next to him and noticed how stiff Jared was. Harry told to Malfoy in a bored tone, "You know if purebloods were so superior, you'd be doing better than Hermione in class." Almost right away, Harry had a reaction from Malfoy.

"Potter, people like you shouldn't really be talking much. You may have the name of a pureblood, but everyone knows that you've got Muggle blood in you," retorted Malfoy.

"It's been than being inbreed that your eyes are so close together," quipped Jared. "Who bloody cares what someone like you thinks anyway?" He got to his feet, rising to his full height. He seemed more impressive at the moment. "I can break your arms off this time, Malfoy. It wouldn't be that hard. They'll just pop right off."

"Come on, Crabbe. Goyle," said Malfoy as he stalked off. His eyes did flicker for a moment. It wasn't like before when he could make the threat that he'd tell his father. Things were slowly going to change for Malfoy. It was going to take ten years to do it.

Jared sat back down. This was the first time since the incident in the hall did he mention anything about twisiting Malfoy's wrist. Hermione sucked in a breath through her teeth, which made Jared feel some guilt. She always did that when she was disappointed in him. So, he cast his eyes downward, his cheeks felt hot.

"That's some temper you've got there," pointed out Ginny as she gave Jared a meaningful look.

"I have my father's temper," he admitted without looking at anyone else. "I've been dealing with people like Malfoy for years. Look, I'm going to the library today. I've got to catch up on some work. I'll talk to you later."

Ron was the first one to break the silence when he left, "He's got some issues, doesn't he?"

Ginny rolled her eyes at him and said, "Imagine being a small kid and having other kids tell you that you don't deserve to exist because your father's a blood traitor."

"That's horrible!" exclaimed Hermione, horrified. "No wonder he's so sensitive about it."

"His father comes from one of the best known pureblood families around," said Harry. "His father isn't just any law enforcement officer. He's an Auror, so Jared's made of pretty stuff. His mother's a healer like he said before, but she just started working again when he started at magical school."

"His dad's an Auror?" repeated Ron as his eyes lit up a bit. He was really considering being one, but he didn't really know anyone whose father was one. He had talked a lot to Kingsley and Tonks over the summer about the training.

However, in two years time, he didn't know that he would have to choose between being an Auror or a Quidditch player. Ultimately, Ron choose to be an Auror because two years in Snape's advance N.E.W.T. classes would have been wasted, but that wasn't his real reason. He found out that he would have to travel extensively, and by that time, he was pretty much in love with Hermione. Although, there were days that Hermione would have preferred Ron as a Quidditch player than as an Auror. Between the two, Auror was the more dangerous occupation.

"Yeah, Ron," confirmed Ginny. "And from what he said, a good one, too." She gave brother a slight smile.

"I wonder why he didn't just come right out and say it," said Hermione. "Don't you think that's rather strange?"

"Maybe, he just didn't want to," said Harry.

Hermione wasn't letting it drop as she said, "You know it's interesting because he's so much of a free spirit most of them, but he must have grown up with some strict parents."

"Or maybe not," argued Ron. "He can't be that disciplined if he goes off from time to time. I've never seen anyone with that kind of temper before."

Ginny almost snickered, but managed to stop herself. Harry shook his head. It seemed that Hermione, still not knowing Jared's true identity, agreed with them as she quipped, "You are one to talk. Your temperament isn't exactly what I would always call pleasant."

Ron gave her a confused look, "I have no idea what you're talking about, Hermione. I happen to have a very pleasant disposition."

Hermione rolled her eyes at him and got to her feet. "Enough. Let's go and do some of our prefect duties. I'm tired of you not doing your share of the work. I'm not always going to cover for you."

"Aw, come on, Hermione. Isn't it bad enough we have to go out at night and have meetings with Malfoy?" whined Ron as he followed after her.

"You know it's no wonder why Jared is so weird," muttered Ginny as she glanced at Harry. "He's so much like Ron it's scary."

Harry nodded, "Yeah, I've noticed. I'll go and check up on him and make sure he's fine. I'll talk to you later."

By the weekend, everything had settled down. The feast was planned for the evening, and Jared went off with Harry and Ginny after breakfast to go meet with Fred and George. Neither of the twins knew that they were about to meet their future nephew. In fact, Ginny didn't say that Harry and Jared were coming.

"Fred. George," said Ginny as she walked into the already busy shop. The twins decided to open the new shop on Hollow's Eve, and they were banking on making a tidy profit in Hogsmeade. It hadn't been decided yet which twin would be in charge of the store, and Ginny had a feeling that they were going to flip a coin to figure it out.

"Ginny!" greeted Fred exuberantly. "Are you here to buy something? 'Cause you know we could use the business." He was mildly gesturing at the amount of people in the store. "Otherwise, you could help out your big brothers by waiting on customers."

"I am not here to work for you. I did that during the summer," said Ginny with little humor. "Anyway, I brought Harry and Jared here."

George greeted them first, "Hey Harry. I'm George Weasley and this is my brother Fred. So, you're Jared?"

"Jared Blake," responded Jared with a slightly smile. "Nice shop you've got here. What do you have?"

"An American," observed Fred. "This is the first time we've ever had a foreigner in this shop."

Ginny rolled her eyes, "You've only been open for two hours for crying out loud. And you leave him alone." She sounded very defensive, which the twins caught on to quickly.

The twins eyed Jared with deep interest as he looked around the store. It wasn't his first time in the store. When he was younger, he used to go to the one in Diagon Alley often. When he was going to Hogwarts, he went to the one he was currently standing in. The layout of the store wasn't much different than what he remembered. Some things weren't in the same place and there were products that he didn't remember.

"So, what are you looking for?" asked Fred as he followed Jared.

George told Harry, "You're free to get whatever you want, Harry." Neither Ginny nor Jared knew that Harry was the silent partner of Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. Harry made Hermione and Ron promise not to say anything to anyone and that promise still held even in the future. "I'll let you know if I need anything," Harry said to George as he browsed.

Fred was right behind Jared who turned suddenly and almost fell back in the process. "You break it, you buy it," said Fred with a smile.

"I'll remember that," muttered Jared with a smirk. There were times that he hated being so tall. He was still growing and at times he was clumsy and tripping over his feet. When he was little, he would just fall and be horribly embarrassed. His father would reassure him it was because he was going to be a big boy and that the same thing used to happen to him, too. However, Jared had yet to see Ron really clumsy, which led Jared to believe that he was really clumsy. "I can look around here by myself, if you don't mind."

Fred studied him for a moment before he concluded, "There's something familiar about you. I don't know why, but I can't seem to place you."

"Yeah, I get that," said Jared as he looked above Fred's head to Ginny. His eyes were pleading for a rescue. Ginny wasn't coming. "Stop looking at me like that," he told Fred with some annoyance. His cheeks were red along with his ears. This didn't help him.

"Yes, you definitely look like someone I know," insisted Fred as he walked around Jared. "But, where…I don't know."

Fred sort of got his answer when Hermione and Ron walked right in. They were doing what they did best: arguing. "All I'm saying Ron is that I want you to take more responsibility. You're suppose to. What's wrong with you?"

"I don't see the point, Hermione," countered Ron loudly. "You're there to take care of it anyway."

Hermione fumed as she went toe to toe with him with her hands on her hips. "I'm tired of taking up all the slack. You've got to do some of it, too, Ron."

"You're always making a big deal out of everything," retorted Ron.

Fred and George went up to them and said in unison, "You're driving customers away." Ron and Hermione faced them and pointedly ignore them as they turned to each other and continued with the squabbling.

"I just want you to do more. That's all."

"Like what?"

"Like some of the things that Professor Dumbledore said during the meeting. Just for once, could you just do the schedule for our rounds? I'm always the one who gets stuck with that."

Jared had heard arguments similar to the one that they were having. As a baby, he had slept through most of it and everyone was amazed at that. Of course, he could be just as loud if he wanted to. After all, he had inherited a good set of lungs, judging by the sound of them arguing in the store.

"Will you two just stop?" pleaded George as he looked around at all the people who were starting to stare. "You sound like an old married couple."

Jared snickered as he made his way to Harry. He and Ginny were trying to hold back their laughter as Jared got to them. "Did you find anything you like?" asked Harry to him quietly. "I'll just say I'm getting it."

"Or me," offered Ginny. "I'm sure you're used to not paying for this stuff."

"I am, but I don't need anything right now," said Jared. "Usually, my mother tries to keep me out of the stores. She always says that they're a bad influence on me."

"She's not wrong," muttered Ginny as the twins and Jared's parents continued to talk. "Why don't we wait at the Three Broomsticks?"

"Yeah," agreed Jared.

"Hey, we'll be waiting at the Three Broomsticks. See all of you there," said Harry as they walked out.

That stopped them from talking pretty fast. When Harry, Ginny, and Jared were out the door, Fred said once again, "Isn't there something familiar about him?"

* * *

AN: Jared is the Weasley golden child. By this time, Molly has it set that she wants Ron and Hermione together, too, and so everyone pretty much waits for Jared to come along. Jared does have his own issues. His parents are a tough act to follow and he's not even a prefect in the future. He doesn't realize how cool he is nor does he realize that he has a lot of stuff going for 

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.


	15. Hollow’s Eve

Temporal Flux

Chapter Fifteen: Hollow's Eve

Jared and Ginny waited as Harry brought them some butterbeer. They settled themselves comfortably in their seats and watched as some of the professors from the school walked in. Jared didn't seem to mind at all as they continued to wait for the twins, Ron, and Hermione.

"You hardly ever seem to be bothered by the arguing," commented Ginny.

"Nah, I'm used to it," said Jared. "I slept through most of them when I was a baby."

"I guess you would have to be immune to it," said Harry as he looked at the door. "I think they're starting to get suspicious. I guess it's a good think that you don't have the same coloring at him."

Ginny said, "If he did, he'd be the spitting image of his father. I mean he'd look exactly like him. He already sounds like him when he drops the accent."

"Thanks for talking about me like I'm not here," said Jared with a smirk. "Did I mention you're my favorite aunt?"

"Really?"

"But I think I like my other aunts better right now."

"You're so lucky that I'm not a violent person." Ginny's tone was threatening as she formed one of her hands into a fist.

Harry interrupted in a quiet voice, "Stop. They're here."

Ron and Hermione walked up to the table. "I'll go and get some butterbeer. Be right back," said Jared immediately as he got to his feet before they could even sit down, let alone say a word. Ron and Hermione glanced at each other before taking their seats. "Well, he's eager," observed Ron.

"Will you two stop snipping at each other?" requested Ginny before taking a sip of her butterbeer. "I'm tired of hearing you two fight all the time."

"If your brother would be more responsible, we wouldn't have this problem," said Hermione.

Ron countered, "If Hermione could relax more, she wouldn't get so upset over the smallest thing."

Harry was starting to wonder how they were able to raise a child like Jared together. He seemed perfectly normal. Then again, as Harry had said earlier, perhaps Jared was immune to it because he was their offspring. Jared came back and set the bottles down in front of them before taking his seat.

"Thanks. You should've waited for Fred and George. They'll be along soon enough," said Hermione. "And we could have gotten our drinks ourselves."

"Yeah, thanks. Besides, we could have paid for the drinks ourselves," added Ron. He was starting to notice that Jared did have a lot of money with him. Not that he had seen it himself, but he had seen all the new things that Jared had. With the exception of his trunk, it appeared that Jared's parents made a lot of money.

"It's okay," said Jared with a casual shrug.

That bothered Ron immensely as he said, "It must be nice to have money to throw around so easily."

Jared gave him a startled look. Unlike his father, he never had to wear hand-me-downs and have to worry about money. He never wondered why his father indulged him with toys. Jared was an only child and a tad spoiled by his father, and that irritated his mother from time to time. Unlike Harry who also had money, Jared had both his parents alive and well. "My dad gives me an allowance," Jared explained, feeling somewhat embarrassed. _You give me my allowance_ he thought as he stared into Ron's eyes.

"Ron, stop picking on him," said Hermione. "You can just pay him back for the butterbeer if it bothers you that much."

Ron didn't say anything, but dug into his pocket and placed the coins in front of Jared. Not knowing what to do exactly, Jared just picked them up the money and put it in his pocket. He was thinking that the whole thing was utterly ridiculous and that Ron had ended up giving him more money. Jared shook his head as he heard Ginny snicker.

"What are you laughing about?" demanded Ron.

Ginny shook her head, "Nothing. Nothing at all." She knew where Jared had gotten his money from in the first place. "I just think that I'd take advantage of getting a free drink every once in a while. Say, Harry, would you like me and Jared to pay you back since you got our drinks?"

Harry grinned and shook his head, "It's fine."

"See, Ron. I think you just didn't want the butterbeer because it was Jared who paid for it," said Ginny as she smiled at her older brother.

"What do I have to do get you to be quiet?" asked Ron.

Ginny gave a mock look of shock as she said, "Me? All you have to do is ask."

"Then, shut up."

Hermione shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Jared, is it true that your dad's an Auror?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah," responded Jared slowly, wondering how they found out. "He's an Auror. He's been one for about twenty years."

"Must be exciting. Ron wants to be an Auror," said Hermione.

Ron snapped at her, "Why are you telling him that?"

Jared blinked. Ron normally avoided looking straight into his eyes because they bothered him with their startling familiarity. However, he had accidentally looked into those bewildered brown eyes. He was startled as he turned his head immediate and his eyes settled on Hermione's. "What's wrong, Ron?" asked Hermione. Her eyes were filled with concern.

"Brown eyes are common, aren't they?" asked Ron out loud.

Hermione nodded, "Yes, they are. They're the most common color. The rarest color happens to be either blue or green. I don't know exactly which one though. Why?"

"Nothing," muttered Ron. Lucky for him, he was saved because Fred and George finally came into the Three Broomsticks. "Oi, over here," he called. The twins nodded as one of them came up to them, while the other went to go get their drinks.

"Fred should be here in a minute," said George as he pulled up a chair. "So, what are you talking about?"

"Nothing much," said Ginny. "Although, Ron's gone weird. He's asking if brown eyes are common."

"It maybe common but they're not all the same," pointed out Harry. "I mean for example, the eye shapes can be different." He almost pointed out how Hermione's eye shape was different from the Ginny's and the twins. Jared had Hermione's eyes exactly much like how Harry had his mother's eyes as well. Harry was starting to notice that Ron was getting more perceptive.

"Here you go," said Fred as he handed his twin one of the bottles. "You should have waited for us. We wanted to treat you guys."

Ron said, "You've been doing that all summer."

Hermione glanced at her watch and interrupted it, "Oops, I forgot. I was supposed to send a letter to my parents. They were planning something for the Holidays."

"Isn't Christmas a bit further off, Hermione?" asked Ginny.

Hermione shook her head. "It's some big deal with my grandmother on my mother's side. It can never be too early for her. She's planning some sort of big ball or something. I don't know. I really don't want to go, but I promised my mum that I would tell her my measurements so that she could pick out something for me while I'm away. I guess I'll have to go to the dress shop here to make sure. I'll meet you back at the castle for the feast. I don't want to be late just in case they're closing up early for tonight." She said this all in a very big hurry as she put on her cloak and put her cloak on. "I'm really sorry. The rest of you can enjoy your afternoon. There's been so much to do today."

As soon as she was gone, Ron said, "Does she look more anxious about it?"

Jared couldn't help it but mutter under his breath, "You don't know her."

"Don't know who?" asked Ginny, hearing him perfectly.

Jared cleared his throat, "I mean Hermione's grandmother. Not that I know. Maybe she's one of those types that mean well, but really don't understand at all. You know I just remembered that I have to get some more quills. I'll see you later." He was having a difficult time with the way the other Weasleys were staring at him.

"Are you sure you want to go alone?" asked Harry, trying to be helpful. "Because I could with you."

"I'll be fine," Jared assured him with a smile.

Ron looked a little put off by it, "I think he can take care of himself, Harry. After all, his father's an Auror."

Jared paused for a moment before saying, "Of course, I can handle myself."

When he was gone, Ron had his arms folded over his chest. Now he knew for sure that something was going on. It had something to do with the concern that Harry and Ginny had for Jared. They were being too friendly, but at the same time overly protective of him. What happened was the last straw.

Ginny glanced at Harry as her brother glowered at her. The twins were looking back and forth between them. "Why are looking at us like that, Ron?" asked Ginny.

Ron raised an eyebrow at them and asked, "What the Hell is going on? When did you two become such good friends with Jared? I don't understand what's going on. One day you're telling me he could be a threat, Harry, the next day you're out defending him and offering to go shopping for quills with him. And Ginny, I don't know what's going on, but you've been looking very smug about it."

Ginny sucked in air through her teeth. It was a good thing that it was very noisy inside the Three Broomsticks. No one was paying attention to what they were saying in particular. "I can't take it anymore!" she exclaimed out loud. "But we can't talk about it here."

"Ginny—" started Harry.

Fred interrupted, "Now this sounds intriguing. Why don't we go to the backroom of the shop and discuss it?"

"Yes," agreed George.

"We don't have to go anywhere because Ginny's not going to say anything. You promised Jared you wouldn't," said Harry through his teeth.

Ginny shook her head, "Harry, he didn't exactly say that he wanted me to promise him not to say anything."

"Then, let's go!" announced Ron angrily. "We're going, Harry. You can come with us or run off and warn, Jared, if you're so concerned. I'm you're best friend. What's he to you?" He was on his feet and leaned forward, his shadow casting over Harry. "Either way, I'm going to figure out what's going on."

"We're kind of interested in knowing ourselves," said Fred. "And Ron does look like he's fit to kill right now. We're just lucky that George and I are innocent bystanders."

Harry was the one to scoff, "You maybe bystanders, but you're anything but innocent."

Ginny said, "Harry, let's face it we're in trouble either way. I mean Ron's mad now, Jared will get mad later. Either way, think about it." She was point out the temperaments of the two as being identical.

"Good point," said Harry. "I still think this is a bad idea." He looked at Ron when he said this.

"Come on, Harry, this is too good a secret to keep!" exclaimed Ginny anxiously. "I don't wanna keep it anymore. I want to see how Ron reacts." She had her hands clasped in front of her.

"I don't really like where this is going," said Ron.

George pulled on Ron's arm to get him up as he got to his feet. Fred did the same to Harry, who was harder to get up because he was stubbornly clinging to the chair. Ginny got up under her own and lead the way out of the Three Broomsticks.

They trudged back to the store with one of the twins on either side of Harry. If he wanted to leave, there was a little they could do. He craned his head around to look for Jared, but he was no where to be found. "Damn," he muttered under his breath.

When they got into the backroom of the store after shooing one of the employees away, Fred locked the door and they all turned their attention on Ginny. She looked at each of her brothers and settled on Ron who was looking at her intently.

"There isn't any easy way to say this. I didn't believe it myself."

"What is it, Ginny?" demanded Ron impatiently. He turned to Harry, "What the Hell is going on, Harry?"

"JARED'S YOUR SON!" erupted Ginny.

It was so quiet one could hear a quill drop. Ron stood in stunned shock, while Fred and George had identical looks of wide eyes and wide mouths. Harry looked at them with a raised eyebrow wondering why they weren't saying anything. The silence was broken by the sound of Ginny's relieved sigh. "Oh! I feel so much better now that I said it," she announced happily.

"Ginny, you've got some power," said Harry as he waved his hand in front of them. "You stunned really well without a wand."

"That's not funny!" exclaimed Ron, making Harry jolt back. Ron was seething as he was making wild gestures with his arms, "Come on, Ginny! Who is Jared really? This has got to be the worst joke I've ever seen! He can't be my son! He's as old as me for crying out loud! Harry!" His head whipped around to his best friend.

"His real name is Jared Ronald Weasley," confirmed Harry. "He came from the future with a really good spell."

Ron was still shaking his head, "He's not my son. That's impossible!"

George quipped, "Well, he does look like you now that I think of it. That's why he seemed so familiar actually."

Fred added, "He's got brown hair and eyes though. Not as much freckles. The brown eyes look familiar. Where have I seen those before? They're obviously from his mum." The twins looked at each other as they concluded, "Hermione Granger is mum!"

If Ron wasn't having a heart attack then, he was now. He was shaking his head and blushing furiously. "Now that is impossible!" he sputtered.

"Ron, calm down," said Harry as he placed his hands on Ron's shoulders and shook him gently. "We're not lying. He's _your_ son. In case you haven't noticed, he's been using the American accent because his voice is identical to yours. Take a deep breath and think about it. You know we're not lying to you."

Ron stopped shaking his head but retain a color that resembled a tomato. Fred broke the silence with one quip, "At least we know that you don't die a virgin, Ron!"

Jared was picking through the quills and testing them out. He was only happy when he found one that refilled it with ink. He paid for his quill along with more rolls of parchment. When he got outside, he ran into Hermione.

"Oh, there you are," he muttered as a way of greeting.

Hermione looked up at him and smiled. He always thought that she was pretty and when he was younger he would do anything it took to make her smile and he could do it so easily, too. "Are you on your way back to the castle? I separated from the others. 'Cause I needed some new supplies. I go through a lot of parchment, ink, and quills," he told her.

"I can see why, Jared," said Hermione. "Yes, I'm on my way back to the castle. Are you?"

"I just need to drop by Honeydukes to refill my other supplies then I'm heading back," he replied.

Hermione shook her head and said, "You know too much sweets can't be good for you. Especially your teeth."

Jared knew that she was going to say something like that. "Come on, we're wizards and witches. They have spells to prevent tooth decay. Even you took advantage of wizarding dental care despite your parents being dentists, Hermione."

Hermione blinked in surprise. Yes, she had her teeth shrunk down by Madame Pomfrey after a stray spell made them even larger than they normally were. She didn't remember telling him about it. "How did you know that?" she asked cautiously.

For a moment, a look came over him that looked almost like a look that Ron would have when he was caught doing something, but Jared covered up nicely, "Ginny told me."

"Oh," said Hermione. "Do mind if I come along to Honeydukes with you?"

"No. You always make good company, Hermione," said Jared. "Besides, I wanted to talk to you about what happened at the Three Broomsticks with Ron."

Hermione shook her head, "Oh, that. You shouldn't pay attention to much to that. Ron's just a little upset whenever he's reminded that his family doesn't have a lot of money. It did change a lot last year after the twins business starting booming." She explained as they walked along. "He just feels like he gets overshadowed by his older brothers. There are five of them above him after all, so he finds it hard sometimes to distinguish himself. And having Harry as a best friend also doesn't help his self-confidence."

Jared didn't know what to say to that, so he kept quiet. They finished going through Honeydukes quickly and returned to the castle soon after that. Jared put his things in his trunk, while Hermione had little choice, but to get some work done.

Hermione was plenty annoyed at Ron for choosing Quidditch over his prefect duties. They spent more time arguing than getting work done, leaving Hermione very stressed out. Most of her fellow Gryffindors steered clear of her whenever she was doing prefect business in the common room.

It took another good hour before Ron, Ginny, and Harry returned. They had spent most of the time calming Ron down. He wasn't getting over the shock, but it was a good thing because he was forgetting to stay mad at Harry and Ginny for keeping it a secret in the first place.

"I can't believe," muttered Ron again. "What am I supposed to do when I get there? How am I supposed to face him now?"

Harry shrugged and said to Ginny, "Well, you're the one who had to tell him, so why don't you help him out? Jared's going to be mad at us, too, you know. He's got your temper, Ron."

"Don't remind me," said Ginny before her brother could say anything. "But you've improved from earlier. You'll be fine. Tonight's the night of the feast, so we don't have to worry too much about it until tomorrow."

"Yeah," agreed Harry. "We'll settle in for the feast and then everything will be settled later. I'm also sure that Hermione's back at the castle by now. She was in a bit of rush—"

"How am I supposed to face her?!" exclaimed Ron suddenly. "I mean this is all too much."

"Calm down, Ron," urged Harry. "Don't make me splash you with water again."

"You know I always wondered what happens when two neurotic people get together and reproduce. Now the answer is simple. You get Jared," teased Ginny.

Harry turned his attention to Ginny and snapped, "You're not helping. Ron, listen to me. Just act natural for Merlin's sake. Don't act any different."

Ron responded, "I'm just wondering why she'd marry me in the first place. I've got nothing to offer."

Ginny rolled her eyes and was about to say something if Harry hadn't held up his hand to silence her. "I know that you've had a crush on her for some time now," said Harry. Ron shook his head quickly. "No. Yes, you do. You're just too dense right now to know any better. I think you've liked her since our first year."

"You mean that he was too stupid to realize it," put in Ginny. "Thank goodness Jared got his mother's brains. He'd be in a lot of trouble otherwise. Although, I suspect you've got a brain underneath that skull of yours somewhere."

"Ginny, be quiet. You're not helping," Harry ordered her. "You can keep all your smart comments to yourself."

"I can't help it."

"Shut it."

"I did start to notice that Jared was a lot like her," admitted Ron. "Then, I noticed that he had the same trunk as me. I didn't want to say anything because I thought I'd look mad or something. He's really my son. In the future, I have a son?"

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally, you're getting it. Let's get there faster. I don't want to miss the start of the feast."

"Hey, wait up!" exclaimed Ginny as she hurried to catch up because Harry had picked up his pace.

Ron followed them reluctantly. He wished he could deny what Harry said about him having a crush on Hermione. Harry was wrong. It wasn't a crush. He didn't know when, but he had fallen in love with Hermione some time ago. And now this, Jared's presence didn't reassure him. It just made him more nervous.

When they got to the common room, Hermione was writing quickly and was in deep concentration. Ron followed behind Harry and Ginny. The latter took a seat in two of the comfy chairs, while the former made his way over to Hermione. He cleared his throat to get Hermione's attention. When she didn't look up, he said, "Do you want some help?"

Hermione looked up a bit startled. "No, I can take care of it, Ron," she replied.

"No, I want to help. Just give me half of it," he insisted.

Her eyes searched his for sincerity, while he was hoping that he wasn't blushing or anything. He was sure his ears were on fire. She smiled a little as she gave him part of the stack. "Are you sure?" she asked again.

"Yea, I'm sure," he replied. "I'm sorry about leaving all the work to you. I'll try to help out more."

Hermione tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. "Thanks, Ron. There might be hope for you yet," she said as she turned her attention back to her work. Ron settled down next to her and took one of the quills on the table. At first, he went straight to work to avoid looking at her. A little later, he found himself looking at her from time to time. He could see it now. He could see some of Jared's qualities as her brown eyes looked over the parchments. If he didn't believe before, he believed now. She was the most beautiful, perfect person he had ever seen.

"Harry," said Jared as he came down, interrupting Ron's thought. He turned to see automatically. "I could use some help. Would you help me please?" It startled Ron. He stared at Jared with his mouth agape.

Jared noticed and turned his attention to Ron. "Are you all right, Ron?" he asked simply. Hermione looked up from her work. "What's wrong? What did I do now?" Jared raised his eyebrow. Ron recognized it as one of his own gestures. It was almost like starting into a mirror, but different. It was starting straight into his future.

"I'm fine. Everything's fine."

* * *

AN: Somehow, you've got to figure that Ginny can't keep the secret for that long. It's too good to keep. This is by far the funniest chapter I've written in a while. Now, Ron knows. He was starting to figure it out, but he thought he was crazy if he said anything. I love Ginny in this chapter, while Harry remains as the calm one. Hermione's still in the dark. I have no idea when she's going to find out. 

As for background, Jared isn't the oldest Weasley grandchild, but he's the one that people expected because it was clear to his grandparents that his parents would eventually get together. Jared is actually the sixth grandchild out of the Weasleys (just like Ron is the sixth son), and the only grandchild for the Grangers. The whole family did know that Hermione would have problems with her pregnancy because Ron was very vocal about not wanting to risk Hermione's life to have Jared. Of course, Ron found out about Hermione's pregnancy after she told Harry who was there to help soften the blow. Ron was a little freaked with over concern about Hermione during the pregnancy and with impending fatherhood staring him in the face. Perhaps, I should write about it.

Also, since the next book has been announced for release on July 16, 2005, I'll have to speed up to get my next fic out in time before the next book or website information does something to my plot. This means that Temporal Flux might be coming out faster. I'll have to buckle down and keep messing around.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.


	16. Hollow's Eve Continued

Temporal Flux

Chapter Sixteen: Hollow's Eve Continued

The feast was as wonderful as it was every year. Since almost everyone thought that it was Jared's first Halloween in Hogwarts, they were trying to asking him how they did things in America. It was good thing that his mother always bought him lots of books about different cultures.

"I hear that the children go out in costume," said Seamus to Jared.

Jared nodded. "Only the Muggles do that though. The covens are careful to keep their practices under wraps. It's not like here where there's a large governing body that regulates things."

"So, you're a member of a coven?" asked Dean.

Jared answered, "The covens can be very large depending on where you're from. The larger covens are in the older cities, but that can be different. It depends on the history of the area. L.A. has lots of different covens because of the different cultures in the area. America's the world's melting pot after all. Believe or not L.A. may be the shortest acronym, but it's the city with the longest name in the U.S."

"What's the full name of the city?" asked Lavender.

"El Pueblo del la Reina de Los Angeles," replied Jared. "It means something like the Town of the Our Lady of the Angels. The Spaniards named it when they claimed it. The nickname merely says the Angels."

Parvati said with somewhat dreamy eyes, "Then you must be an angel yourself." Jared kind of choked back.

Ron wasn't saying much because he was marveling at what a fantastic liar his child was, while Hermione was talking to Ginny about something else. Harry kicked Ron's shin under the table. "Ow! What you do that for?" demanded Ron as he ducked under the table for a bit to rub his shin.

Now, Ron didn't exactly ask why Jared was there. At this point, he was getting over the shock that he was going to exist in the first place. If Ron knew why Jared was really there, he would be more alarmed. "What are you staring off into space for?" asked Harry.

Jared was sitting next to Harry and looking at Ron with some concern. Just like Hermione would, if she wasn't distracted at the moment with Ginny. Jared shift uncomfortably as he picked up some more food for his plate, but he couldn't quiet reach the pumpkin pasties. Ron pushed it to him and saw that his hands were just like his for that brief moment that their hands were on the plate. "Thanks, Ron," said Jared politely. For Jared, that was the first really kind gesture that he had seen Ron do to him.

"You're welcome," muttered Ron as he looked away.

"Are you all right tonight, Ron?" asked Hermione teasingly. "You must be under some kind of spell or something." Ron gave her a confused look. "I mean you've all of a sudden gotten more helpful and polite in one night. What made you change so drastically? And where did you put the Ron that I know?"

Normally, Ron would have said something snappy to her, but he didn't. "You know, Ron, you've been kind of quiet tonight," observed Neville. "Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," sputtered Ron quickly. "Nothing's wrong." His whole face felt like it was on fire. He was almost ready to blame Jared for the whole thing. For making him feel uncomfortable, but Ron quickly reminded himself that he was supposed to act like everything was fine.

"Ron, you look very red," commented Hermione with concern. "Are you sure you're not sick or anything?"

Ron stammered because she noticed what she was hoping she wouldn't, "I-I'm f-fine." To make matters worse, she pressed her fingertips against his forehead. He pulled back as if her fingertips were on fire. "Just leave me alone, Hermione!" he exclaimed defensively.

Hermione was startled by his reaction and withdrew from him instantly. "Sorry. I'm just worried."

"What the Hell is wrong with you?" asked Jared angrily.

Ron was about to get angry at him, but taking one look at his face made him feel bad. It was Hermione who came to his defense. "It's all right, Jared. It's okay," she said softly. Ron felt the guilt crawl up his neck at her tone. She still stood up for him even after he had gotten mad at her.

"Sorry," he muttered under his breath. This didn't seem to appease Jared at all, but he wasn't looking at Ron anymore. Rather, he was looking at Ginny who looked at him briefly before looking away.

Jared gave Harry a sidelong glance and figured out what was going on. His mother didn't rise a fool after all.

Sometime later, Jared waited in the common room for everyone to go to sleep. He knew that Ginny and Harry were coming down to explain what was happening. The longer he waited, the anger he got. When he heard them come down, he started talking before he saw them.

"Okay, what happened?" he demanded with his arms crossed over his chest. "What's wrong with Ron? What did you tell him?" His eyes were directed at Ginny who kept looking away from him.

"I told him," she admitted.

"You couldn't keep your bloody trap shut, could you?" As Jared said this, losing his fake accent altogether.

"You've really got Ron's temper," observed Harry. Jared glared at him. "I tried to stop her, but she wanted to say something. I said it was a bad idea, but Ron was starting to figure it out anyway."

"I'll have you know if there's one thing I've inherited from my father it's my temper!" shouted Jared.

"Among other things," said a quieter, calmer voice from the stairs that led to the boys' dorm. It was now Jared's turn to be stunned into silence as he looked at Ron who was coming down slowly. "So, when were you going to properly introduce yourself?"

"Not if I could have avoided it," muttered Jared as he glared at Ginny who was concentrating on the ceiling.

"Now, now. Let's try to get along now. After all, you're family," said Harry. "And we shouldn't be so loud. Hermione might come down or something."

"Are you going to keep this from your mum?" asked Ginny to Jared.

Jared sighed and buried his face in his hands. He mumbled something, but no one could hear him. Ron stepped forward and leaned in more. He gently tapped his finger against Jared's hands. "Why are you even here?" he asked. "That's what I want to know. And if you're really my son, I would like to see some proof."

"Oh, come on, Ron!" exclaimed Ginny. "Look at him. The nose. The ears. The lips. The hands. Look at how he's built, too. And all unwelcomed, sarcastic commentary. He's got a mischievous streak a mile wide. If that doesn't scream Weasley, then I don't know what does."

"How many other people know?" asked Jared.

Harry answered, "Just Fred and George. We made them promise not to tell anyone."

"Great. Uncle Fred and Uncle George," muttered Jared as he raised his hands to the air. "And no, I'm not telling my mum about me. Look at him, he's a mess." He gestured at Ron.

"How did you come from me?" asked Ron.

Jared put his hands on his hips, which was like his mother and replied, "We had this talk when I was fourteen. I really don't want to relive it. It was uncomfortable enough for both of us the first time we had it."

Ginny giggled at this. Harry didn't say anything as Jared went on, "I guess I should probably tell you about why I'm here. Getting you up to speed might help us. And by us, I mean us as a family."

"Well, being the only non-Weasley here, I feel a little odd," said Harry finally. They looked at him, and he shrug, "I thought it was my turn to say something."

"No, you stay," said Jared. "You're my godfather. Why don't we all get comfortable? This is going to take a while." To Ron, that was one of the few things that made sense. They all settled in the chairs and Jared began his long, complicated story.

When he was done, it took Ron a little bit longer to process it. "So, someone out there wants to kill me?" he said slowly. "Did Harry tell you what happened in the forest?"

"Yes," said Jared with a nod. "Magus is psychopath. His crimes are hate crimes. He kills Muggles as well as those who support them. It took years for you to track him and eventually bring him down. Azkaban isn't the same place it used to be. The Dementors aren't there any longer. In fact, I've never even seen one."

"That should make you feel better, Harry," said Ron. "Because none of this is making me feel any better."

"I've read as much of the journal," announced Ginny. "There isn't much going on. Other than what happened in the forest, Hermione doesn't know what's going on. She's pointing out that you two have so much in common and should get along better." She gave pointed looks at her brother and nephew.

"Whatever," muttered Jared. "If anyone had a problem it was him. I didn't do anything. He's paranoid."

Ron, who was still in a bit of shocking about Jared, didn't glare at him like he normally would have. Of course, the mystery of where Jared had learned the ability to be so obnoxious was now obvious. So, for the time being Ron let it slide. "I didn't know she kept one," he said.

"Yes, she does," said Ginny. She waved her hand towards Harry and Jared, "These two were too squeamish to read it, I've been reading it. You probably shouldn't read it, Ron."

"No, I want to see that," said Ron loudly as he got to his feet to get to his sister. "I want to see what she wrote about me."

Ginny shook her head, "Isn't obvious that she didn't write anything bad about you? Ron, let it go." She had the book closed in her hands and she was using it as a shield, which was a bad idea because Ron knocked it of her hands.

The book landed on the pages, but the picture came out face up. Ron picked it up and gazed at it. Just when he didn't think Hermione could look prettier, she managed to do it in the picture. The little baby in her arms was dozing as she waved his little fist in the air. "Ahem," Jared interrupted his thoughts, "That would be me."

"I know that," said Ron. "You look almost cute."

"Hey! I was a cute baby," exclaimed Jared defensively. Ron went up to him and put the picture side by side with Jared's face. He looked at the baby in the picture and at Jared. He did it twice. "If I look bad, it's really your fault," muttered Jared.

"You have your mother's eyes," concluded Ron. "I took this picture, didn't I? Rather, I'll be taking this picture."

"You'll keep it on your desk at the Aurors office," confirmed Jared. "It's your favorite family picture. It was taken my first day out of St. Mungo's and that's our front door. I've lived in London most of my life."

"So, I'm a success?" asked Ron, disbelieving again. He never would have thought he would amount to anything, but looking at his young family for the first time it seemed that it was true. He suddenly occurred to him that he wouldn't have even thought he had a chance with Hermione unless he made something of himself first.

"Yes," said Jared with a nod. "It's kind of hard to follow after you as your son. Everyone's expecting something great from me. It hasn't happened yet. You were a prefect your fifth and sixth year. Next year, you'll be Head Boy. You'll also get offers to become a professional Quidditch player as well as the chance to be an Auror. So, will you, Uncle Harry, one the last parts."

"For you, Uncle Harry, it's no contest. You're already tired of all the attention, so you turn down the offers immediately. But, for you, Dad, it's different. You want to make some of yourself, but when you find out about the traveling schedule, you decided not to take them up on their offer. You go on to be an Auror instead, which was probably the better decision. Although, it's more dangerous than playing Quidditch, which really worries Mum a lot." Jared hadn't notice that he had completely lapsed on what he was calling them earlier. In fact, this was the first time that Ron had heard himself referred to as "Dad."

Ginny broke the silence, "See, you go on to be like Bill and Percy after all, Ron. It's not completely unique, but you divert and go on to be something you really wanted to be."

"I can't believe it. I don't really want to be like Percy," muttered Ron. "What happens to everyone else in the family?"

"Now, that would be telling," replied Jared. "Well, almost everyone gets married and has kids of their own. I guess Grandmum is still waiting for Uncle Fred and Uncle George to settle down, but neither of them are willing to give up being bachelors. Uncle Bill is the first to get married, then Uncle Charlie. All their kids are boys, too. Aunt Ginny got married, too, and has her own family with the only girl out of all of you. I'm an only child."

"You're an only child?" asked Ron. Not that he was eager to have as many children as his parents, but it did seem odd to him that he would only have one child.

"Mum had some scarring from one of the attacks before," answered Jared. "You consulted both Muggle doctors and wizarding healers. Both of them said that it would be difficult and dangerous for Mum. You weren't too keen on having children after that, but Mum managed to convince you to have me. So, here I am. She almost died when I was born. There was a lot of bleeding, so after that you said no more and that I was perfect already."

"Oh."

Ginny raised her hand to get some attention. "You mentioned that most of us get married, but you didn't say anything about Percy." Her voice was quiet because she and Ron were still rather sore about Percy's behavior in the previous year.

Jared didn't look at either of them for a moment and looked down at his hands. "I wouldn't know anything about Uncle Percy," he whispered. "He died before I was born."

It was like Ginny and Ron were looking at a reflecting pool and someone had dropped a stone, distorting what they were staring. Harry looked at each of them and saw that Ginny had a breath caught in her throat. Ron shook his head from the shock. "When did he die? I mean when he is going to die?" he demanded in a whisper.

"I don't know," answered Jared. "By the time, I was born, no one wasn't talking about him much. All I remember are the pictures over the mantel in the Burrow. Grandmum would put them up, while Granddad couldn't look at them at all. The rest of the family went on with their lives, but I think that there was always a void whenever there's a family get together at the Burrow. There's always a chair that remains empty at the table. I would have liked to know him."

Ginny got up abruptly and left without a word. She didn't even bother to pick up the diary from Ron on her way out. She had gone upstairs as quickly as possible. They heard her slam the door to the fifth year girls' dorm.

Ron ran his fingers through his hair. "But you're not here to stop that, are you? You're here to keep me alive," he whispered.

Jared nodded and glanced at Harry. "We should find out how and where. We know the why and the who," said Harry. "I got word for Remus about it. He said that there isn't anyone known as Magus according to the Ministry records. He said that he was able to get your father to help, but your dad was wondering why I'd ask. Ron, we need to focus. We need to find out what will happen. It's not just you whose in danger, so is Hermione and Jared. There's a chance that Magus already knows that Jared is here." He was desperate to get Ron to focus on something else.

"I know," whispered Ron. He got to his feet. "I'm feeling tired. I think it's time we all go to bed. Come on, Jared." Jared looked at Harry briefly before he got to his feet and followed his father. Harry followed reluctantly after them.

Jared got into bed, half expecting Ron to tuck him in, but fell asleep before he could draw the curtains closed. Ron shook his head again and got up to close them for him.

* * *

AN: Does Jared have a girlfriend? No. He's actually single, and he's kind of a free spirit. He does have two best friends like his father did, but he isn't interested in his close female friend. It's funny as the story goes along that I'm developing more of a world where Jared is from and what kind of people he knows.

Anyway, this is a very short chapter, and it's supposed to be. If anyone else has a pressing question (please don't ask for when the next update will be…I say in the journal), I'll post the answer in the notes as 

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.


	17. The Morning After

Temporal Flux

Chapter Seventeen: The Morning After

The following morning Ron was the first one up and got ready early. He had finished the work that Hermione had given him and tacked on his prefect badge with pride before going down. It was still the weekend, but that didn't mean he was going to take a break by any means. First, he had to make sure that Ginny was all right. She was more upset than he was the previous night.

However, Ron knew he could never make it up the stairs. Also, as much as he didn't want to, he had to tell Ginny not to write home and tell them about Percy. Ron paced back and forth, waiting. Hermione came down first. Ron stared at her as she came down from the girls' staircase. She seemed surprised to see him. He felt his breath caught in his throat when she looked at him. Before, there was someone else in the room, but now they were alone in the common room in the early morning hours.

"Ron? Good morning. Aren't you up a little early?" asked Hermione as she continued down the stairs. The hazy, morning glow from the window framed her form as she seemed to glide down the stairs. She gave him a quizzical look as she asked, "Ron, are you even wake? You're not answering me."

Ron blinked to get his brain working again. "I'm awake," he managed to look away from her for a moment before adding; "I've never been more awake in my whole life."

"Did you sleep well?" she asked as she walked up to him. "You look a little tired."

Ron felt exposed in front of her. He was wondering if she could read his thoughts or not. There were times that Hermione could do that. Were her lips always so dewy? Or was that his head? He cleared his throat, "Ahem. I finished the work that we had for the prefect. I even took care of next week's. Here."

Hermione accepted the bundle of parchments. She blinked in surprise. "You did?" she asked. She smiled as she shook her head. "I'm starting to think I'm losing my touch, Ron."

"Why?"

"You're doing all of your work without me telling you all of a sudden, and Jared's giving me a challenge in class. It's like he threw down a gauntlet or something. I have to keep pushing myself to beat him. Yesterday, he stocked up on supplies of parchments and quills. He went to Honeydukes and bought a supply of sugar quills even."

"Hermione, you don't have to beat him," said Ron calmly. He couldn't really explain to her that Jared was just that way because of her. He was starting to think that they had created a monster that consumed lots of sugar and studied too hard. "So, he has a stock of sugar quills?"

"Yes. He's a bad as you when it comes to sweets," she confirmed with a nod. "Maybe that's why I like him so much. He reminds me of you, except he's a little easier to get along with." She added with a laugh, "As along as academics aren't involved."

"You do everything so well, Hermione," said Ron as he looked at her again. "Nothing really looks that hard for you. It all comes so naturally, which is amazing considering that you don't come from a wizarding family." He paused as he looked away from her, feeling somewhat embarrassed as he added, "You're perfect."

Hermione laughed. "No one is perfect, Ron. Please. I'm not perfect. If I was, things would be a lot easier. I'm a control freak. I admit to that when it comes to things. I'm also driven to prove that I have a right to be witch because I'm not from a wizarding family. I drive people mad because of it sometimes. All right, most of the time for you and Harry anyway."

"The three of us make interesting friends, don't we?" commented Ron. "Harry has this grand destiny, and you're already a great witch. Me, I'm just in my potential stage." He thought of what his future held. His future was sitting next to him, while the extension of her was sleeping up in the boys' dorm.

"You'll turn out all right," Hermione assured him. She wasn't so sure why she was so positive of it, but she went on, "You shouldn't compare yourself to anyone else. Be who you are, not what you think you should be."

Ron nodded. As they both sat down. She was so close to him that she could smell her shampoo. Part of him wondered how she would react if he put his arm around her shoulders. That would have been too forward, so he stopped himself. He cast a sidelong glance at her and saw that Jared indeed inherited her eyes, including the long, thick eyelashes that went along with them. He recalled the picture in his mind of her and their son. Jared definitely took more after her in his earlier years it wasn't until he started to grow and develop did he begin to look more like Ron.

"Are you really going to spend Christmas with your family this year?" he asked. It was too early to be asking that question. It was more than a month away.

"Yes, I don't have much of a choice. My grandmother is throwing this big dance," said Hermione. "I'm sixteen, so it's kind of a big tradition in her family that they throw one of these, even though one is only an adult at the age of eighteen. It's been ongoing in my family for generations."

This was the first time that Ron had ever heard of Hermione's family. Let alone hearing about Muggles that way. Her grandmother sounded like one of those pureblood wizards like Malfoy. "My grandmother almost had a heart attack when she found out that my mum wanted to marry my dad. They met while they were in school. My dad comes from a working class family, so she didn't think he'd amount to anything, even though they were already in graduate school to become dentists."

Ron shook his head and sighed. She glanced at him as he began his explanation. "It's funny how things run so much the same between the wizarding world and the Muggle one. As you know, being a pureblood is a big deal. Coming from a long line gives you a distinction. Having money can elevate your status even more. You may have money, Hermione, but you're below me and Harry. If Harry wasn't famous, he would be below me in status as well. His mum was a Muggle born witch as well. His father's considered a blood traitor in certain circles. I'm a pureblood, and my family's known throughout England. When Bill and Charlie were abroad, they found out that they were known by their names." Ron's eyes widened as his own works sank in. "Oh Merlin."

"What?" asked Hermione startled by the look on his face. "What's wrong?"

Ron leaned over as he realized that was why Jared was so upset about being asked about his lineage. Of course, Ron's name and blood gave him the status as coming from a distinguished line, but Hermione's lineage would make things more difficult for Jared. It wasn't her fault of course. It was the wizarding world's bigotry. Jared, and even Harry as well as others like them, represented to the purebloods a threat. People who could walk around coming from distinguish lines and not being purebloods at all.

Ron's parents, especially his father, always taught him to be tolerant of Muggles. His father had spent a whole career devoting himself to ensuring that Muggles were treated properly. Ron was always extremely defensive whenever Malfoy called Hermione a "Mudblood." Ron remembered the time that Jared almost broke Malfoy's arm, and now the anger raged in him. If it had been up Ron, Malfoy wouldn't have been walk at all.

"It's just not fair," he said finally as he faced Hermione. "You, Jared, and Harry shouldn't be persecuted just for being something they can't help. It's so stupid."

"Now, there's no reason for you to get angry right now," said Hermione gently. "There's nothing you can do about it."

Ron took one look at her face and allowed himself to calm down. He could feel her warmth and for a moment he was able to not think of anything else, but her. Until they were interrupted by someone coming down, "Good morning."

They turned to see and Jared greeted them again, "Good morning. You guys are up early." He grinned at them. He was dressed in clothes that Ron knew he paid for and that Hermione had picked out for him. Jared's clothes fitted him perfectly and were newer than anything Ron ever had growing up. His shoes made him a little bit taller than Ron, but he glided over.

Hermione stared at his feet. "Do you have skates in your shoes?"

"Yep," he responded. Jared went on, "It was a bribe from my mum. It was the only way she was going to get me into Harrod's this year. They weren't cheap." He grinned a smile worthy of the Cheshire Cat. Ron gave him a look that made Jared wipe the grin right off of his face. "It makes it easier to go to class without magic and the other kids use them in America." Jared sounded sheepishly.

"Why don't we go and get breakfast as soon as Harry's up?" asked Hermione. Ginny normally went to go for breakfast with Luna during most weekends.

Ron couldn't help but continue the conversation that Jared had started, "So, your mother dresses you?"

"No, she doesn't," said Jared. "She just picks out the clothes at the store and tells me to wear them. It's either that or go naked."

"She dresses you," insisted Ron.

Jared opened his mouth than closed it and sighed as his shoulders slacked. "Yes, my mother dresses me."

"Ron, stop picking on him," scolded Hermione. "Your mother buys your clothes."

"Nope. Not really," corrected Ron. "I wear hand-me-downs, so technically she dressed my brothers, not me."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Like that's any better, Ron. I happen to like how Jared dresses." Jared shrugged. "The nice earth tones bring your eyes." They were _her_ eyes.

"Figures, you'd like his clothes," muttered Ron under his breath. Hermione whirled on him and before she could demand that he repeated himself, he said, "I was just muttering to myself. I didn't say anything you want to hear." Hermione would have said something, but Jared's laughter stopped her all together.

Hermione started at him and looked perplexed for a moment as she turned to look at Ron who was having a hard time keeping a straight face. She couldn't help, but think that the two were up to something, but that was impossible. They didn't like each other. Or did they? When did that happen?

Finally, Jared had calmed himself down. "You two sure like to argue, don't you?" he asked. "I don't even know why I'm asking. I should be used to it by now." Ron's head wrinkled in wonder. Part of him was glad that Jared didn't seem all that traumatize, but another part of him was thinking that there was something warped about him being so calm when his parents were arguing. However, the way he reacted before to that other argument, helped Ron to understand that Jared knew the difference between playful arguments and hurtful ones. Jared offered Ron, "You want to try the shoes? I'm sure they'll fit you."

Ron looked at them dubiously and shook his head. "You're going to hurt yourself on those. Are you sure they're safe?" Jared rolled his eyes at him. "I mean you could really hurt yourself on those."

"Ron, I didn't know you cared," said Hermione playfully. "You sound like your mother." That made Ron's ears turn red. Jared shrugged and sat down in an armchair next to them.

"I don't sound like my mum," muttered Ron.

"Yes, you do," insisted Hermione. She turned to explain to Jared, "You haven't met Ron's mum. She's a very nice woman, but a bit of a worrier."

Ron exclaimed, "He knows that!"

Hermione turned to him and asked, "How would he know that? He hasn't met her."

Jared quickly said, "Ginny and Harry were telling me things. I gathered that." No, they didn't. He already knew that. His grandmum had a tendency to hover over her grandkids when they were little. She wouldn't let him do anything fun like jump off the furniture at the Burrow for fear that he might break something on his body. "I also heard about Mr. Weasley. Very interesting man. I met the twins."

"Still, I'd say Ron is the strangest one out of all of them," said Hermione, her eyes glowing with good humor. Jared nodded in agreement to which, Ron exclaimed, "I am not! And if you haven't noticed, I'm still here!"

Harry had come down during that time, stretching his arms and yawning. He saw the three of them together and blinked. "Good morning," he greeted. "Why are all of you here?"

"Just talking," said Jared as he got to his feet. He turned to Ron and Hermione. "Does this mean we can go to breakfast now?"

Ron nodded as Hermione got to her feet. He didn't get up just yet. "Actually, you two go on ahead. I need to talk to Ginny, but she's not up yet. I'll join you after I talk to her."

Hermione could tell that something was wrong, so she reluctantly agreed, "Fine. We'll see you later, Ron. Try not to take too long, okay?" Ron nodded. "Let's go. I'm hungry."

Ron continued to wait for Ginny to get up. He ended up waiting for a good half hour before Ginny came down the stairs quietly. She was dressed as if she was going to go outside. Ron could see an envelope in her pocket, sticking out. She didn't seem to notice him as she made her way towards the door. It wasn't until Ron stood up and called her did she bother to turn and notice. "Ginny."

Ginny pivoted around somewhat startled by him. "Ron, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be down for breakfast already?" She barely looked into his eyes as he folded his arms over his chest. "Look, I'm fine, Ron. You didn't have to wait up for me. I'll handle it my own way."

"Ginny," whispered Ron as he placed his hands over her shoulders. "Listen to me. What I'm about to tell you, you're not going to like. It's going to be hard, but you can't say anything to anyone about what's going to happen to Percy because that's the way things are going to be, Ginny. I thought about it, too. I thought long and hard about it. I woke up early to think about it some more. It's going to happen. There isn't anything we can do to stop it. Not even writing a letter to Mum, Dad, or any of our brothers is going to change the outcome. Jared's already explained why he's here, and we give any warning we might end up doing some damage that we can't allow for. Jared's meant to be here to save himself along with me and Hermione. He's not here to change what's going to happen to Percy."

Ginny looked up at him trembling. Her eyes were filled with tears as she whispered, "It's not a letter to any of them. It's a letter to him. It's not to warn him because I know that he won't believe me. I just want to make sure that I square things with him or at least try. Even if he meets up with Jared and gets told everything, he won't believe it. Because I know him. It's not fair, Ron. I'm supposed to have six older brothers, not five. It's not fair. IT'S NOT FAIR!" She sobbed and started to pound her hands against Ron's chest. He did the only thing he could. He placed his arms around her and pulled her close, letting her cry as much as she wanted to.

Ron murmured things that he didn't believe himself. Most of it, Ginny couldn't hear. All he could really do to comfort himself and her was hold her. Maybe that was good enough.

Jared, Harry, and Hermione were having breakfast together and were almost done, waiting for Ron. It wasn't that Jared was insensitive about Percy being dead, but in his time Percy had been dead for years. He cursed himself for making such a careless slip. He was getting far too comfortable for his own tastes. Hermione was sitting next to Harry, while Jared sat across from Harry.

They didn't realize how long they were waiting until Luna came up to the table. After greeting them, she asked, "Where is Ginny? She hasn't come down for breakfast yet, has she?"

"Not as far as we know," replied Hermione, looking up at her.

Luna gave a glance towards Jared who looked her square in the eye. "What about Ronald? Didn't he come down with you?"

"No, he wanted to talk to Ginny about something," answered Harry. Then he offered, "Why don't you join us? I don't know how long they're going to take." He didn't really look Hermione in the eye for most of the morning.

"Sure," agreed Luna as she took the seat next to Jared. "What do you suppose is keeping them?" Her question was more directed to Harry than anyone else. Jared shifted uncomfortably. It wasn't that he didn't like Luna. In fact, he adored her from the time he was little. She was one of the people who babysat him and she told him the best stories. However, she had the uncanny ability to read people very well. She could spot liars easily.

Harry answered, "I'm not sure." He took a sip of pumpkin juice from his goblet. "I'm sure it's not anything important. They're family. Sometimes, it's stuff between family members. You know."

Luna nodded as she started to put some food on her plate. She was about to eat, but she said, "You know Jared, I was just thinking that you reminded me of someone." Jared gave her a puzzled look. "You remind me of someone. I'm not sure who." She stared at him with her large blue eyes that seemed to bore into him. She broke the stare to turn and look at Hermione briefly. "You have Hermione's eyes," she concluded.

That almost made Harry choke on a piece of toast. He immediately reached for his goblet and jugged some pumpkin juice quickly. Jared just stared at her with wide eyes. Hermione shook her head, "Luna, what are you talking about? We're not related. We just have brown eyes that's it."

"Yeah," agreed Jared with a nervous laugh. He knew that his mother was far too logically to listen to Luna, even if Luna was right. "Besides, I'm American."

"Are you of English descent?" asked Luna, obviously unfazed by Hermione's previous reaction.

Jared nodded. "Both sides."

"Hmm."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Harry broke in, "Good morning, Ginny! And you finally made it, Ron. Where did you go?" He was more than relieved that they had arrived. "What took you so long?"

"Good morning, Ginny. Ronald," greeted Luna.

Ron gave her a wry look before, taking the seat next to Hermione. Ginny took her place next to Luna. "We were at the owlery. We had to send a letter to our brother," answered Ron as he started pile some of the toast onto his plate. At the same time, Jared picked up a piece of toast. It was the last one on the plate. Hermione looked at Ron and Jared, half expecting them to fight over a single piece of toast. It was a bit of a surprised when Ron withdrew his hand and said, "It's yours."

"Ron," said Hermione. "Jared had some already."

"It's okay," said Ron. "He can have it." He stopped himself from saying that Jared was a growing boy. Jared shrugged and took a bit out of the toast.

"Jared!" exclaimed Hermione. Jared gave her a look as he sighed and offered the already bitten toast back to Ron. "You already took a bite out of it. What's wrong with you?"

"Oh," said Jared as he took back his toast and ate the rest of it. Ron was shaking his head, grinning from ear to ear.

"What are you smiling about?" demanded Hermione as she glared at him. Harry started laughing. "What's so funny?"

"I like toast," said Jared randomly.

"Have the rest," said Ron as he gave back what he had on his plate to Jared, which he accepted readily. "I'll have something else. Ginny, eat something." Ron gave her a worried look. "Please."

"I'm not hungry," Ginny said as she looked at her brother. "I'm going to take a walk," she announced as she got to her feet. He gave a nod, but didn't say anything to stop her. She walked out of the Great Hall. Luna got to her feet soon afterwards and grabbed some of the food on the table, placing it in a napkin. "I'll talk you all later. See you." Luna left.

Hermione broke the silence. "Is everything all right, Ron? I mean not just with Ginny, but with you. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," replied Ron. "After this, why don't we go out for a walk, too? I mean all of four of us." Hermione agreed with a smile as the rest of breakfast went on as usual.

* * *

AN: The slip that Jared made when he was explaining the shoes was on purpose. He's getting a little to comfortable. What happens to Percy runs in the following story runs at the same time as this part in Temporal Flux, linking the stories together. I wouldn't say they were part of a series. The next chapter will take place some time after this.

Back to the question of Jared's love life. He won't be getting any further assistance from the future other than the tools he has brought with him and the knowledge that he has. As the story progresses, Jared will realize that he knows more about Magus than he 

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.


	18. Unforeseen Complications

Temporal Flux

Chapter Eighteen: Unforeseen Complications

Weeks began to pass without anything coming to light. Jared was getting more and more frustrated, while Ron, Ginny, and Harry were getting more and anxious about not knowing what was going to happen next. It took a while before Ginny could refocus again on things, but she forced herself to because three people's lives were in danger. The only reason why Jared left her alone during that time was because Ron told him to.

"It's been weeks and there's nothing on Magus," said Jared. "It's like he's just waiting."

Harry had a sudden realization that came to him. "The first attack was at the Forbidden Forest right?"

"I'm not so sure myself," said Ron as he nodded. "But why are we going over that again?" Suddenly, Ron had an epiphany when he realized what Harry was getting at. "Every year Dumbledore gives us the warning to stay out of there. There are a lot of things in the forest that could harm us. But it isn't just that. The protection that's available on the campus doesn't extend to the forest."

Jared got up. "That's right. I mean every year McGonagall gives us the same warning."

"McGonagall becomes Headmistress?" asked Ron.

Jared nodded. "After Dumbledore retires. I met him once when I was very little. I kept calling him Bumblebee. You just laughed, but Mum was horrified when I did it in front of everyone. But Dumbledore didn't mind at all. He just laughed."

Ron laughed, too, "I figured that Hermione would get upset over something like that. It's just funny. She's your mum."

"She's your wife. You married her. I mean you _will _marry her." He made gesture that was completely unique to him. Ron noticed something that he didn't notice before because before he didn't want to look at him directly. There was a faint scar along Jared's neck, close enough to the jugular. Ron impulsively grabbed Jared's wrist, alarming him. "What's that on your neck?" asked Ron roughly.

"It's nothing," mumbled Jared without pulling his wrist away. "I don't know where I got it. Let me go, Dad." He sounded frightened. It was the last part, calling Ron, "Dad", that got Ron to release Jared's wrist. Jared ran his thumb against it. He looked away from Harry and Ron as he said, "It was there when I was eleven. I don't know how it happened either. Ari and Alex seem to know, but I never really wanted to know how it happened."

"Ari and Alex?" pressed Harry.

"Oh, Aristotle and Alexandria, my friends in Hogwarts," answered Jared. "Ari's family is all Muggles and he was sorted into Gryffindor. Alex is in Slytherin, but she doesn't really fit in there. She's a sneaky one though."

"You have a friend in Slytherin?" asked Ron, utterly surprised.

Jared nodded. "Her father was a Ravenclaw and her mother was a Gryffindor. She hates being called Alexandria. She's okay with Lexy or Alex. She prefers Alex. She's a bit of a tomboy and she's the Slytherin seeker after Professor Malfoy pushed for her to be the seeker on a second year. It made it so that they won the cup for three years in a row."

Now Ron was going into sheer shock, "Malfoy becomes a professor?"

"Well, someone had to replace McGonagall when she becomes head of the school. There's also Professor Longbottom, he teaches Herbology. And of course, Harry. You're the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher along with being head of Gryffindor. It limits my trouble making immensely. Although, I have found ways around you, Harry." Jared had a smile that could only be a Weasley trademark for mischief making.

"Great," muttered Harry. "I can't believe Malfoy becomes the Transfiguration Professor."

"He's fair, but he's always telling you that your students aren't studying enough. Actually, on our first week, he took two points off for each student who didn't do the reading. I was the only one who did the reading," said Jared. "Then again, I did the reading during the summer. I always do the reading during the summer. It's boring otherwise."

Ron rolled his eyes. "You really are your mother's son." He shook his head. "You're also just as stubborn as her. And you're really good at changing the subject, aren't you? I want to know how you got cut on your neck." He sounded angry.

"I told you. I don't know!" exclaimed Jared just as angrily. "I don't remember what happened."

"Does it tingle?" asked Harry quietly.

"No," answered Jared. "It doesn't. It's just a normal scar. I don't think there's anything magical about it. I don't know why Mum insisted on not getting rid of it. I'm sorry, Ron. I didn't mean to get mad about it. It's just that you don't really say much about it. You got really mad when I insisted on carrying out this plan and tried to stop me."

"It looks like something that could bleed a lot," murmured Ron. "Are you sure it's nothing? I mean why can't you remember how it happened?"

Jared shook his head. "I wish I could tell you, but I honestly don't remember. Most people don't notice it until they get close enough to." He looked at Harry. "I mean you didn't notice and Ginny didn't notice either." He turned to look at Ron. "Figures, you'd notice. You've been looking closely at me for a while now. Mostly at my face though. And I try to not draw any attention to it. Sometimes I forget that I have it."

Ron couldn't help, but be alarmed at the scar on Jared's neck. Harry knew it, too. "Besides, it was you who asked about McGonagall being headmistress. You changed the subject first. Now what were you two saying about the forest?"

"Oh, yeah," said Ron. "You see the forest only neighbor the grounds of the school. The protection that's over the school doesn't extend as far as into the forest. The maze that Professor De Luca set up was still on the grounds, but Magus must have tampered with the maze to get me and Hermione into the forest."

Harry continued, "The maze itself was built too close to the grounds. He won't kill you, Jared, because it's all he has to really do is kill Ron or Hermione and you're out. You'll never exist. That's why he hasn't gone straight for you."

"I won't let anything happen to you or Hermione," said Ron solemnly. Jared nodded because he knew that he was serious.

"I can take care of myself. You and Mum taught me how," said Jared. "Of course, you're the most overprotective father alive. You never let me do anything. I'm surprised you let me go for the Quidditch team last year. You and Mum agreed not to let me go for my third or fourth year. On my second year, there weren't any open positions on the team."

"What position did you make?" asked Harry.

Jared grinned as he replied, "Keeper. Just like my dad."

Ron was sort of confused about him being such a strict parent. He was sure that he would have told his child to go out for the team as soon as there were open slots, but to force Jared to wait until fifth year to go out. Ron was sure that Hermione wouldn't hold Jared back that much, especially if Jared liked playing Quidditch as much as Ron did. Ron didn't like that he sounded so much like his own mother. She was the strict one. "So, you can play Quidditch?"

"You took me to my first game when I was ten days old," said Jared. "Mum got plenty mad about that according to Grandmum. It was you and Harry who took me. Mum made you promised her that you wouldn't take me to another game until I was old enough to sit up on my own. I'm a born and breed Chaudley Canons fan."

"Grandmum? Which one would that be? You've got four grandparents," said Ron.

"Well, your parents are called Grandmum and Granddad. While my other grandparents, the ones that I don't have to share with anyone else, are called Nana and Papa," clarified Jared. "I sometimes help Granddad with his tinkering in the shed. I'm the only helper he's got. I don't mind fiddling with all of those Muggle contraptions."

"Oh," said Ron.

"I guess we just keep veering off topic," said Jared with a sigh. "Anyway, I guess what you two are trying to say as long as we stay on the grounds we should be plenty safe. The three of us, I mean."

Harry nodded and sighed. "I guess we'll just have to stay close to the castle and the rest of the grounds. I mean it's not just Jared or Hermione, Ron. It's you he's really after. I mean we don't know how you'll catch him even."

"Maybe, we should just tell Hermione," said Ron quietly. Jared shook his head furiously as Harry gestured for him to be quiet. "I mean she might be able to figure something out. We can't just rely on her diary. It's obvious she doesn't know what's really going on. And she's not stupid. She's probably thinking it's unlikely that you're her son anyway because she's got too much common sense to think otherwise."

Jared nodded as Harry spoke, "Isn't all of this somewhat illegal? I mean I remember Hermione warning me about the punishment for tampering with time."

Jared shrugged. "You can't be the son of an Auror without learning how to avoid the law."

Ron shook his head. "I've created a monster." As he gazed at Jared who could only grin.

Sticking close to the grounds was something that was relatively easy to do while school was in session. As the holidays rolled around, it became apparent that it wasn't going to be possible. When Christmas break came along, and the list was being past around to be signed, Hermione made the announcement that both Jared and Ron seemed to have forgotten over time.

"You're not going to be here for the holiday?" asked Ron as Hermione nodded. He was looking at her as if her head had popped off suddenly. "Where are you going?"

"Ron, I've been talking about this for weeks. My grandmother is planning a huge ball. I'm expected to attend. There's no way out of it. Even my dad tried, but he couldn't reason with my mum or Nana," she replied, saying it slowly as if Ron had lost most of his facilities.

Ron sputtered, "B-but you've spent every holiday break with me and Harry since our second year."

"And I haven't been with my parents for that long, Ron," countered Hermione.

Jared and Harry were playing chess nearby. Or at least they appeared to be playing chess. Ginny was sitting in an armchair, curled up with her textbook. They weren't the only ones listening to Ron and Hermione's conversation.

Hermione put her arms over her chest, "Ron, I've spent more time with your family than my own. I feel like I haven't seen my parents in ages." It was the first time that she ever really mentioned anything like that, leaving Ron a bit put off.

The other Gryffindors were listening closely with their attention absolutely rapt. Almost everyone was doing the same thing because Ron and Hermione sounded so much like a couple. And a married one at that. But the silence from everyone else didn't last that long, it was Ginny who broke it, "You know, Ron, she's right. Hermione does spend a lot of time with our family. It's different with Harry. He doesn't have a decent family to go home, too. Sorry about that, Harry." She didn't even glance up from her textbook.

"No problem," muttered Harry.

Ginny continued, not looking at the look on Ron's face. "And it's not like we won't have extra company anyway, right Jared? You're not going back to America for the holiday, so you won't have anywhere to go, would you?"

"I was going to sign up to stay over," admitted Jared.

Hermione turned and looked at him. "Why aren't you going home? I mean I'm sure that your parents miss you, don't they?" She was trying desperately to get someone on her side.

Jared looked at her and sighed. "I'm not going to get in the middle of this, but no. I don't think my parents really miss me. My mother hardly knows I'm here."

Hermione's brows furrowed as she said, "That's a terrible thing to say. I'm sure she's worried about you being in England."

"So, you're going off into the Muggle world to attend a party?" interrupted Ron. She was unwittingly making things difficult for him. He did everything he could to make himself as friendly as possibly. He even kept up with the boring prefect work for her. He was about to say think of Jared, but Hermione didn't know that he was her son. "Great."

"Why are you so mad?" asked Hermione. "I very rarely get to see them as it is. I'm sorry."

"Maybe, we should go home for the holiday, Ron," suggested Ginny as she closed her book.

Ron gave her a wide eyed look. He knew that Ginny knew what the plan was and she was purposely messing it up. "What about Jared? He'll be here by himself for the holiday," pointed out Ron.

"Leave me out of this," pleaded Jared as Harry's piece destroyed one of his. "Hey!"

Harry said, "You should pay better attention."

"Hey, Jared, would you like to come along with us for the holiday?" invited Ginny. "The more, the merrier."

Jared froze and looked at Ginny. "Well," he cleared his throat, "that would be nice. I suppose." He took a hasty look at Ron who was shaking his head. "If that's okay with, Ron," concluded Jared.

Hermione demanded, "Why are you shaking your head like that, Ron? You were the one who said he'd be alone and you don't even want to invite him yourself? That's horrible." She sounded utterly appalled. "That does it."

"What does it? What are you going to do?" demanded Ron, not liking the tone that she was using.

Hermione turned her head toward Jared, who couldn't ignore what was happening. "How would you like to join me and my family for the holiday? You said you've spent some time in the Muggle world."

Jared now was trapped. He could go with his father's family or his mother's family. That wasn't an easy decision to make. He wanted someone, anyone to intervene at this point. He glanced at his father who looked a mad, while his mother gave an expectant look. He knew that Fred and George knew who he really was and he could only imagine who else they told. "I'll do whatever Harry is doing," concluded Jared, passing off the responsibility to someone else.

All eyes were now on Harry. He could simply just say that he was staying at the school. Jared could see the quick thinking going on inside Harry's head. He sighed and asked, "Ginny, does your invitation extend to me?"

"Yes," answered Ginny promptly.

Harry nodded, "Then, I'll join you and Ron."

"I guess I'll go too," agreed Jared.

"What about you, Ron? Do I have to invite you to come home?" asked Ginny sharply.

Ron was backed into a corner. He could tell that now everyone else was looking at him, but it was the look in Hermione's eyes that made him decided quickly and impulsively. "We'll go together." He looked at Hermione again. She seemed a little hurt. Perhaps, she felt left out. At the moment, Ron just didn't care. He was furious at Harry at the moment.

When everyone else had dispersed for the night, Jared was still forcing Harry to play another game of chess with him. He didn't take to losing very well, something that he obviously got from his mother. Ron watched them for a few minutes before getting on his feet and walking over to them. "Why did you just agree to not being on the grounds? I thought we decided that this was the safest place," demanded Ron to Harry.

Harry looked up at him, "Hermione's very stubborn, Ron. She was going to go whether you liked it or not. At least if we're not on the grounds, we can still go into the Muggle world and check up on her."

"I was wondering what was going on in that head of yours," muttered Jared. He glanced at Ron. "You're mad, aren't you?"

"What was your first clue?"

"That vein in your head."

"What vein?"

"You two are so much alike," said Harry. "Ron, Jared's a pain in the arse because you're a pain in the arse. And it wasn't fair to force him to choose between both sides of his family. I don't know the Grangers that well, so it wasn't that hard for me to decide. You can go into the Muggle world with two guides rather than one. I mean I'm not much for the city, but Jared was raised in London."

"I know the city, but it might be different than what I remember. I mean it's got to be different," said Jared.

"You do know where your grandparents' house is there, right?" asked Ron. Jared nodded. "Then, this could work. Assuming that my parents will let us go into the Muggle world."

"Don't worry about it. I'm an expert at that sort of thing," said Jared almost proudly, but the look Ron's face wiped the look off his face.

"You'll be a handful, won't you?" asked Ron. As he got to his feet, he continued, "Yet, I can't help but blame myself for it. I should go home, if not to apologize to my parents for all the stuff I put them through. You'd better be one cute baby when you come along."

"I think should be insulted by that," retorted Jared as he followed Ron towards the staircase. Harry shook his head and followed the Weasleys up the stairs. Neither Jared nor Harry knew why Ron was really upset about not seeing Hermione during the holidays.

One would think that Ron would tire out after spending so much extra time with Hermione. His prefect duties allowed him close proximity to her. He spent more time with her than anyone else, yet never found away to get away from her. Nor did she. The thought of not spending the holidays or even seeing her bothered him more than anything. Ron got into bed with that thought running through his mind.

He had been very good for the past few weeks about not thinking of Hermione other than just his friend that he needed to protect. Every once in a while, Jared did an excellent job of reminding that she was so much more. At those times, Ron would just think of Hermione as the mother of his child. He stared up at the canopy. In a few days time, he wouldn't be seeing her for a while, not until the next year. There was no denying that he was in love with her. He wanted to be with her all the time. With her, everything was always fascinating and never boring. At first he assumed it was because they were allowed to spend more time together because of Harry's crazy relatives. He was uncomfortable with just being with her alone, but soon he didn't mind it so much.

Hermione had a way of getting and keeping Ron's attention. He wondered if she ever thought that way about him. Ginny had decided not to tell anyone about Hermione's thoughts on Ron that she discovered in the diary. Ron sat up and saw that Jared was sleeping soundly. He had managed to kick off most of his blankets. It gave something for Ron to do at least. He got to his feet and quietly padded over to Jared's bed. Slowly, he put the blankets back on him.

Ron got back into bed and thought about when, how, and why he didn't notice it before. Why didn't he realize that he was in love with her? He must have been pretty dense because it took Jared's presence to get him to notice. He was about to go to sleep, but suddenly Jared turned fretfully as if he was having a nightmare. Ron sat up again and watched as Jared seemed to shake like he was cold. Ignoring everyone else in the room, Ron got up again and gently shook Jared awake. Ron shook him until his brown eyes shot open. "You're having a nightmare, Jared," he whispered loudly. Jared was gasping for air. "It's okay. You're fine."

"It's all right. I'm fine," said Jared. "It's just a reoccurring dream. That's all. I'm fine. I don't want to talk about it, Dad. " Ron saw the scar on his neck as clear as day under the moonlight. He remembered over the last couple of weeks hearing Jared thrashing about in his sleep, but not doing anything about it. Ron reached out to touch the scar on his neck, but decided against it.

Ron sat on Jared's bed, rubbing his back. It was enough to comfort Jared and induce him to go to back to sleep. It was only then that Ron was able to go to sleep.

* * *

AN: The conversation at the beginning has a couple of hints about what happened to Jared. The reason why the scar on Jared's neck wasn't brought up until now was because he had forgotten about it. The scar is there, but somewhat faded. There is a reason why Jared was kept from playing Quidditch until his fifth year. And there's a bit time leap here, especially for the next chapter. The perspective kind of changed to Ron's end of things.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.


	19. Across Worlds

Temporal Flux

Chapter Nineteen: Across Worlds

When the holidays rolled around, Jared found himself traveling to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix at 12 Grimmauld Place. The place was legendary during the time that Jared came from. It reminded as an important meeting place for the people that had followed Dumbledore during the time of war. It was Jared's first visit ever.

Rather than packing his whole trunk along, Jared had packed his things in a backpack. In order to be invited, Harry had to arrange it with the Headmaster who gave permission and gave Jared a piece of paper with the address of the place. Jared hadn't seen what had happened between his parents, but he did see Ron and Harry bide Hermione a safe holiday. She hugged them both, but Jared could see that she seemed to hold Ron a bit longer. It was also Ron who lingered a bit longer after she had left.

"We'd better get a move on," said Ginny. She turned and said to Jared, "Brace yourself."

"I'm used to it," said Jared as he smiled. "Although, it's going to be strange not getting a Weasley sweater this year." He glanced back at Ron and Harry who were walking behind them. The door opened before they had a chance to even knock.

"We saw you coming," greeted Fred as he looked at Jared. "It's always nice to have family over for the holidays."

"And Harry," added George. "Come on inside."

"Wait," paused Jared, standing his ground. "Does anyone else know about me?" Fred and George just looked at him. "I knew it! Who did you tell?"

"What are you doing at the door? Fred! George! Let them inside," called Molly from the background. She pushed her way past her twin sons and came face to face with Jared. "Oh, you must be Jared Blake from America. Welcome. Come on inside, the rest of you." It seemed like she had pulled them all inside in single instant. Before their coats and things were taken upstairs, she was already fussing over them, "Harry, how are you?"

"All right, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry with a slight smile.

"It's a shame that Hermione couldn't make it," said Mrs. Weasley as she seemed to take a sidelong glance at Ron.

Fred picked up on that and said, "Why couldn't she make it?"

"Family event," replied Ron as he took Jared's coat and put it away for him. He didn't do that with anyone else's.

Molly nodded and turned her attention to the new person in the room. "So, your parents are in America? Where exactly? What do they do?"

"Mum, you shouldn't grill him like that," muttered Ron.

"Los Angeles. My father is an Auror and my mother is a healer," replied Jared smoothly enough. "They're busy, and going all the way back there is way too stressful."

"I see, but that doesn't mean that we can't make you feel at home," said Molly with a smile. She turned her attention back to Ron and Ginny. "Bill and Charlie should be back soon. Your father is busy at the Ministry."

"What about Percy?" asked Ginny impulsively. There were identical scowls on Fred and George's face. "Have you heard from him lately?"

Molly shook her head pressed her lips together. Ginny looked at Ron for some help and he swallowed. Jared looked at each one of the members of his family in the room. "I think I'll have to out and do some Christmas shopping," he announced. "I have to pick up something for my parents. I'll go into Muggle London for it."

"Go where the Muggles are?" asked Molly startled at the boldness of Jared's statements. "But they're wizards, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are," answered Jared. "My mother is Muggle born. My father's a pureblood from a long, well-known line. It's really more for her than him. My dad never really asks for anything. It makes it kind of hard to shop for him."

"Isn't it your father's money anyway?" asked Ron. "I mean you said you got your pocket money from him anyway."

"So, I did," said Jared with a blink. "Are you telling me not to get anything for my father for Christmas?" Ron nodded. "Okay."

"Ron, stop meddling in other families' affairs," scolded Molly. "If he wants to get something for his father, he should."

"Let's take you things upstairs," said George. He picked up Jared's pack. "You didn't bring a trunk."

"I didn't feel like it," said Jared. Before he followed everyone else upstairs, he turned and said, "Thank you for extending your hospitality, Mrs. Weasley."

Molly seemed a little surprised, but smiled. "What wonderful manners you have. You parents must have done a good job raising you. Good manners are always a good indication of that."

"So far," agreed Jared as he glanced at Ron who was the last person waiting for him at the top of the stairs who was smirking at him a little. He followed him up the stairs and into one of the rooms. There was an extra cot that looked a bit uncomfortable with two other beds. The twins had set their things down, while Ginny went off to the other room.

"You take the bed. I'll take the cot," said Ron gruffly. "It doesn't look very comfortably, but it'll do."

"It's okay. I can sleep on the cot," argued Jared. "You don't have to give it up on my account."

Fred interrupted, "You know fatherhood suits you, Ron, normally you'd get all whiney about having to sleep on something like that." Ron's cheeks got red. "So how long before you tell Mum and Dad about their grandson?"

"We're not telling them," hissed Jared. "And keep your voices down. Or at least shut the bloody door."

"You look so much like your dad. I'm surprise our Mum didn't notice," said George. "I guess Hermione's coloring makes for good cover. I suppose you're just as smart as her, too, aren't you?"

"You two are sadistic. You just like watching people squirm," muttered Jared. He crossed his arms over his chest and scowled at Fred and George. Harry was having a hard time keeping a straight face. In fact, he was snickering. "And you never answered me. Who else did you tell about me?"

Neither Fred nor George had to give an answer because Ginny opened the door, following behind her were Bill and Charlie. Bill firmly closed the door behind them and Jared pulled away from the twins with a wave of his hand. "I was born into a family of big mouths," he muttered in defeat. "No one here can keep a secret." He glanced at Ron who looked a little pale at his oldest brothers. "At least one of you hasn't learned how to keep a good secret yet."

"We had to tell them because they were the only ones who could help us with the search on our end," said Fred.

George added, "Besides, you're lucky we didn't send any birth announcements out to the rest of the family."

"I guess you already know who we are," said Bill as he held out his hand to Jared who shook it without look at him directly. He also shook hands with Charlie. "He really does look like you, Ron. I mean I had my doubts, but now looking at him, you can see that he's a Weasley."

Charlie did one better when he started walking around Jared, looking at him at all angles. He picked up one of Jared's hands and observed, "Just like yours and Dad's. Nice slender fingers."

"Do you mind?" snapped Jared as he pulled his hand back. "Stop touching me."

"Ah, that temper," said Charlie somewhat fondly. "We were doing some of the research on Magus. It seems that we haven't been able to find anything on him. I mean there's more than one name like that. It can be a first or a last name, so it's hard to narrow things down."

"I've asked around, too," added Bill. "Either this man hasn't committed a crime yet, or he hasn't been caught for a previous one. We're trying our best."

"Yeah," agreed Ron. "We should have stayed at Hogwarts, but Hermione had to go out to some kind of family event. So, we had to go out, too, just in case. Actually, we need you to help us out with Mum and Dad."

"No problem," said Bill. "We can help out with that. I'm sure that you'd like to see her, Ron." Ron shook his head immediately, but his ears were turning red under the gaze of his siblings, Jared, and Harry. "Okay, and Jared probably wants to see his mum anyway, don't you?"

"I'd like to see my grandparents, too," admitted Jared. "I don't get to visit with them as often as I like. Not since I started in Hogwarts. It's sometimes hard to go back and forth between the worlds. As I get older, I don't get to spend as much time among the Muggles." He saw the looks on their faces. "It's half my heritage. I can't ignore it. I'm proud to be a half-blood."

"We understand," said Charlie reassuringly. "Of course, you can't ignore it. I bet my dad's really happy to have some connection to the Muggle world."

"He uses it as an excuse to go shopping in the Muggle world. I had a lot of toys growing up," confirmed Jared with a smile. It was the first smile that any of his uncles had seen. They seemed marveled by it. It was enough to make Jared uncomfortable.

"Mum's bound to notice that," said Bill quietly. "He's got your smile, Ron. Except for that slight dimple on his cheek."

Ron glance at Jared briefly. "That's from his mum," he concluded. "Come on, let's go downstairs. Mum's going to wonder what's taking us so long."

>

Hermione sighed as she glanced around her childhood bedroom. She finally plopped onto the bed and sighed again. She stared up at the ceiling. It was so quiet at home. Too quiet. She found herself missing all the bustling and noise of the castle at Hogwarts. She wondered what was happening with her friends. She wondered what they were doing at the exact moment that she was laying in her bed.

She grabbed a pillow on her bed and hugged as hard as she could. She remembered last year when she had argued with Ron about her going skiing with her parents, but she only argued with him because he got her ire up. She didn't like him insulting things that he didn't understand, especially things about the Muggle world. At least, Harry was easier to get along with compared to Ron, but it wasn't as stimulating. However, she reflected that Ron had been very good and nice lately. Up until he found out that she wasn't going to be there for the holiday. In fact, he was downright upset about it.

Hermione also thought that she was rather impulsive for inviting Jared to come with her. No doubt that her father would have had a few choice words to say about him. Hermione didn't have such feelings towards Jared, but she couldn't help it. She did care about what happened to him. Jared had a handsome smile. That was what she noticed about him. It was very much like Ron's. Now that was a startling thought as she sat up. Jared did have Ron's smile. Hermione shook her head frantically.

That was impossible.

Or was it.

She covered her lips with her fingertips as she thought about it. It was liable to cause her a headache, if she continued to think about it. She was far too logical to consider it, but she remembered on her third year with the Time Turner. Of course, she turned it back in when she decided to have a regular schedule instead of trying to take on too many classes at once. She must have been mad that year for biting off more than she can chew.

Funny, she didn't see him wearing one that one time she saw him struggling with his shirt. It was very strange indeed. He had to have one on him somewhere. Then again, once one does the spell with the Time Turner, one could remove it and go on without it. Harry didn't have to keep wearing Hermione's Time Turner the whole time they went back in their third year. Hermione wasn't going to get enough time to dwell on it because her mother was knocking on her door.

"Hermione, dear?" called her mother. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, Mum," responded Hermione as her mother opened the door. Her mother was a beautiful woman with warm brown eyes and brown hair. She was also thin and willowy. Many people had compared Hermione to her mother, but she still didn't see what the fuss was about. Her mother smiled at her.

Viola Granger took a seat on Hermione's bed next to her. "So, how do you like the dress? I know it wasn't what you picked out for yourself from the wizarding boutique, but your grandmama would prefer if you had something more in vogue. You can save that other dress for another occasion."

"But I like it better than the one that she decided on. Isn't Dad upset about it?" asked Hermione as she got to her feet. She was referring to the fact that the dress was completely open in the back. The wizarding gowns were wonderfully old-fashion with their large skirts. The dress that her grandmother had picked out was a custom made number. It was a light bluish grey color with some sequins and the back was opened. It was like a halter top, tying in up at the back of her neck. The skirt was long, but a bit loose. It still accented her curves and showed much more skin than she preferred. Rather the dress had been designed to show the few curves that she did possess. In short, Hermione hated it.

Viola stood up and looked at the dress from behind her daughter. "The fabric is beautiful. And the shoes that go with it are gorgeous. I'll deal with your father. If he had it his way, he'd dress you in lots of ruffles and bloomers with an overcoat to cover the whole thing. You're a young woman now, Hermione, so you should start learning to be comfortable in your own skin."

"I'd rather wear what Dad wants me to wear than this," muttered Hermione with distaste as she reached out and touched the material. It was silk. But she expected that from her grandmother. "I don't want to wear it where anyone can see me. Can't I just wear the dress that I picked out for myself?" She was pretty close to pleading with her mother.

"It's up to you," said Viola. "Your grandmother said it was such a beautiful dress, but if you have no problem upsetting her, then you can wear your dress."

Hermione was furious at the manipulation that her mother was employing because it was working. She folded her arms over her chest as she threw her mother an angry glare. Viola placed her hands on Hermione's shoulders and tried to soothe her. "Hermione, just please just this once, could you be a good girl and just do this?"

"It's degrading," muttered Hermione sullenly. "I won't wear. I want to wear the dress that I picked out for myself. The one that you let me pick out for myself."

Viola suppressed the urge to sigh. She knew her daughter was extremely stubborn. It was a trait that she had inherited from her father. Little did Viola know that this stubbornness would be magnified further in the generation after her daughter. She gave her daughter an encouraging smile, which was something that Hermione hadn't expected. "You know someday you'll look back on this argument, Hermione, and realize how unimportant it is. You don't have to make a battle out of everything. You need to learn how to pick your battles better. I just hope that if you have a child, you'll be understanding."

Hermione still had her arms folded over her chest, but she softened a bit. "What makes you think anyone would want to be with me and have a family with me? I know what Grandmama's party is really about. She wants to show me off. The noble families and royals have key members who are old enough to marry. She lost her chance with you when you married Dad."

Viola recalled the morning that Hermione came home. Hermione had mentioned that her friend, Ron, had wanted her to go along with him and the others. Michael wasn't too happy about it. He kept telling Viola that Ron Weasley was more interested in Hermione than just being friends. Michael had become more and more wry of Ron after meeting the young man again over the summer at Diagon Alley. Viola had made the comment that Ron was growing into a fine young man as they walked together down the street. Michael didn't even view Viktor Krum as a threat, but he expressed how much he disliked Ron. All of his reason were thoroughly illogical. Viola gave her daughter a smile.

"What are you thinking, Mum?" asked Hermione.

"Try not to think of your grandmother's party as a trap in the making. You've got a good head on your shoulders, Hermione, and you already know what you want. So, it's best just to enjoy yourself. I allow you to be as smug as you want to be."

"I wish I already had someone to go with me though. It would be so much easier than trying to come up with excuses not to dance. I guess I will have to come up with more creative ways to get away from them."

"You are not to leave the grounds under any circumstances, do you hear me, Hermione?" ordered Viola warningly. "I am serious. And you know you are not to use magic in the Muggle world and outside of your school, do you understand?"

Hermione nodded, which her mother returned with a smile. She sighed, and told her daughter, "Sometimes I think those friends of yours are a bad influence on you."

"Maybe," agreed Hermione as her mother walked towards the door. "Or I could have gotten it from Dad."

Viola gave a shake of her head and sighed, "Your father is coming. Don't listen to him when he says that he isn't. Now, you get some rest. There's dinner at your grandmother's tonight."

"Is Dad coming?" asked Hermione.

Viola nodded, "Of course, he is. Unless of course, someone calls with some kind of emergency." The Grangers had a joint private practice that they ran together. They switched back and forth for any emergencies.

Michael Granger had met Viola Blake while they were in dentistry school and they had gotten married as soon as they had graduated. After they established their practice, they decided to have children. Viola was just as slim and fine boned as her daughter and she could only have one child. With their busy practice, the Grangers only managed to produce one child, so everything worked out.

One could swear the adage of girls marrying men like their fathers was true in Hermione's case. Her father and Ron had a lot in common in the way of personality. Later on Michael would take Ron to his first football game along with Jared just to get away from Hermione's grandmother's for a couple of hours on end. Michael would come to think of Ron as his own son rather than just as a son-in-law, which made Hermione very happy. For his part, Ron disliked going into the Muggle world without Hermione or her parents as guides to it, and Jared would lean how to travel back and forth between both worlds. He was after all a half-blood and his mother was insistent on him learning about both cultures he was born into.

There was a soft knock on the door and Michael opened it before Viola could even open it. "There you are," he said. He smiled at his daughter as he turned his full attention to his wife. "Do I have to go tonight?"

"You asked that question this morning and at lunch. The answer is still the same: yes, you have to go," answered Hermione's mother. She folded her arms over her chest. "And you're setting a bad example Michael, for your daughter."

Michael glanced at Hermione as he sighed and rolled his eyes. "She's too much like you to follow anyone's example. She's the one who sets them, not the other way around. I suppose I will have to go just to not abandon her to the clutches of that—"

Viola cut him off, "You say one more thing about my mother and you'll be sleeping alone tonight." She crossed her arms over her chest for effect. Michael looked rather sheepish for the moment as Hermione covered her mouth with her fingertips in an effort to keep from laughing out loud. "Now, what did you need from me?" asked her mother.

"I couldn't find the shirt I'm suppose to wear tonight."

"Honestly, you can't do anything for yourself. Let's go and set out your clothes for tonight so you won't delay us."

"Why don't you just tell me where it is?"

"Because you still won't be able to find it. Hermione, dear, get some rest. You look very tired."

With that said, her parents left her alone. Hermione closed the door behind her and rubbed her arms. She glanced out the window for a brief moment. She felt like something was watching her, but it was nothing more, but a raven. It flew off just as soon as she had seen it. Breathing deeply, she drew the curtains close, feeling cold suddenly. In her mind's eye, she was back in the Forbidden Forest, but Ron wasn't with her this time. A ripple of fear came down her spine. She immediately went to her school bag and pulled out her wand. Hermione clutched it tightly as she took another glance at the curtains. Then, she stared at the door that her parents had just gone through. Slowly it sunk in, she wasn't the only one in danger.

* * *

AN: Ron has a chance to take a look at Hermione's world. I decided to name Hermione's parents, Michael and Viola. I took the name Viola out of Shakespeare's _Twelfth Night _since Hermione's name is also from a Shakespearean play. Hermione's grandmother's name is Miranda (Blake, being her last name) from _The Tempest_. Michael Granger really doesn't get along with Miranda. It is only when his daughter will marry when he finally gets a good ally against the woman because Miranda isn't too fond of men in general. She doesn't like Ron either, and the only man she will adore is Jared. 

Hermione doesn't have Ron there with her and she can't tell her parents about what she just seen at the end. The Raven won't show up where Ron is because he's in a safer location, but Hermione has left herself quite unprotected in the Muggle world. That won't be for

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.


	20. Breakfast at the Grangers

Temporal Flux

Chapter Twenty: Breakfast at the Grangers

Ginny had watched her brothers as they continued to watch Jared closely. She and Ron had agreed that they wouldn't tell anyone else about Percy's fate. She had received no reply from him ,and actually went as far as to ask some of the other members of the Order who worked at the Ministry if they had seen him. It was most peculiar that someone would ask after all things had had happened while she and Ron were in school. The older Weasley brothers knew as well as their parents. Percy had indeed gone missing for a few months, but was currently away. No one spoke of it, but it cause a great amount of anxiety for their mother. Ron was too concerned with Jared to even notice.

If anything Jared served as a welcome distraction to his grandparents, even if they didn't know his true identity. Molly continually gushed about his good manners as Arthur talked to him about all things Muggle. Jared's knowledge of the Muggle world was vast and included things that had yet to be invented. Both of them felt terrible about Jared being unable to go home to be with his parents during the holidays, but Jared tried to assure them that he was fine. Little did they know that Jared was a veteran of several Weasley Christmases. It wasn't until the following day did Molly brought up Hermione again.

"It's such a shame that she can't be with us," said Molly over breakfast. Ron shifted uncomfortably. Jared was sitting directly across from him. "I hope that she's safe with her parents."

"I was thinking of dropping by Muggle London actually," announced Jared without looking at Ron who nearly choked on his eggs. "I've never been there and I would like to take some pictures to show my Muggle grandparents when I get back home. I'd also like to pick up some thing for my mum."

"What about your dad?" asked Arthur.

Jared shook his head as he finally glanced at Ron. "Ron's right about that. You know he doesn't really need anything. I still would like to go into Muggle London. I really don't need a chaperone. I can get a hold of a map and just go around."

Molly shook her head. "You aren't with your parents here and I doubt that your father and mother would let you wander around a foreign country unsupervised." One of the twins snickered at this statement, but it was hard to say which one did it.

"What do your parents do for a living, Jared?" asked Arthur with some curiosity.

"My father is an Auror and my mother is a healer," replied Jared promptly. "If there's one thing that I know how to do is go through places without much help. My father is a pureblood actually." He didn't say that earlier. "He comes from a pretty big family, so I have a huge extended one. I kind of like the fact that I don't have to share my mother's parents with anyone else. I'm their only grandchild."

"That explains why you're spoiled rotten," muttered Ron under his breath. Jared glared at him for a second as Arthur started laughing.

"Why don't you come along, Ron?" challenged Jared. "You haven't really seen Muggle London, have you? What are you afraid of?"

"Oh, he's good," murmured either Fred or George. Ron glared at both of them because he couldn't tell who said that last statement. They both wore identical grins. Jared went on, "Besides, Hermione's in Muggle London with her parents. Have you ever been to a Muggle house?"

"Harry's aunt's house," said Ron.

"That doesn't count," said Jared. "I mean a wizard friendly Muggle house. In fact, I have the address." He pulled out the address book out of his pocket. He didn't say that Hermione had given him the address, and she hadn't. "Harry, you want to come along, too? You haven't really gotten a chance to take a look around before either. That is if it's safe enough for you."

"I'd like to come along," agreed Harry. "I don't think that there would be Death Eaters hiding themselves among the Muggles. It'll be like hiding in plain sight."

Molly gave a look to Arthur that expressed her immediate anxiety about Harry going off into the Muggle world. She already had that look when Jared was trying to get Ron to go. Now, she was trying to get Arthur to help her. "I'm sure that Jared will be fine traveling in London," said Arthur evenly. "But if you are going to take others with you, I think that you should have someone along."

Jared was about ready to roll his eyes at them, but he wouldn't dare do that to them. He glanced at Ron to help him out, but he had forgotten that neither Arthur nor Molly were aware of who Jared really was. "If you really want to go to Muggle London, I could go with them," volunteered Bill quietly. All eyes were on him as he continued to cut his sausage into bite sized pieces. He took a swig of pumpkin juice before he said, "I've got some time on my hands and I have to go to Diagon Alley to go to the bank anyway, so I don't mind taking them out."

"You want to come along, Ginny?" asked Jared. He hadn't forgotten about her. She seemed distracted though. "Ginny?" Snapping out of her haze, Ginny replied with a nod. "Then, we'd better get moving."

After breakfast, the twins had gone off to their shop at the same time as Arthur. Charlie had left before the family had had breakfast; he and Molly typically had breakfast together before he went off to the dragon reserve. Bill, Ron, Harry, Ginny, and Jared set off for the Muggle world after Molly gave them all stern warnings.

As soon as they were out the door, Jared breathed a sigh of relief as he glanced at Bill. "Thanks for telling her you'd go with us," he said.

"Not a problem. You know how she's like," pointed Bill. "Too bad your _father_ couldn't have been more effective."

Ron glared at him and Jared. "I'm still a kid. It's not like Mum would have let me go out anyway. And if she knew who Jared was, she'd definitely not let him go out and Dad would have agreed with her."

"He's right," agreed Ginny.

Harry had selected not to say anything at the moment. He was surrounded by two generations of Weasleys. Jared didn't say anything either, but he sped up to walk with Harry, leaving the arguing between the others. "Harry, you know that you'll be all right. You'll be the best godfather in the world," said Jared softly with a smile.

This made Harry pause and think for a moment. He thought about it and almost let out a sigh of relief. That was true. Harry was going to live long enough to see Jared grow up. Come to think of it, ever since Harry had found out who Jared really was he didn't spend a lot of time worrying if he was going to die in the next minute or so. For the first time in a long time, he was thinking of the future in more general terms. But his thoughts fell on someone else briefly. "Did I ever tell you about Sirius Black?" asked Harry in a quiet voice.

The other Weasleys had stopped their mild bickering when they heard the words out of Harry's mouth. He hadn't really talked about Sirius at all since the previous summer. Jared sighed and gave a short nod. "I hear about him more from Uncle Moony than from you. Sometimes you get more extreme than Mum or Dad. Sometimes you don't let me do things. You always tell me to think before leaping." He gave a sheepish grin as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Uncle Moony said it's because of what happened to Sirius Black. He was your godfather, and after I was born you swore that you'd do whatever it took to keep my safe and to make sure that you'd be around to do it."

Harry didn't say anything as Jared glanced at him. He went on, "You used to be an Auror, but you quit after a while. It wasn't easy being one for you. You were too famous and they had a tendency to you more as a spokesperson than anything. It was very frustrating. That's why you quit. The Headmistress offered you a position at Hogwarts and you took it immediately. You only started the year that I started."

Bill hadn't heard much about the future of Hogwarts, so glance at his siblings who weren't saying anything. "Gryffindor was without a head of house. You were given the position upon taking your place as the DADA professor. I was glad. I wasn't really looking forward to school. I had been home schooled by my mum most of the time before I started in Hogwarts. I was scared."

"Why would you be afraid of going to school?" asked Ginny. "I mean you're a Granger, too. I thought Grangers loved school."

Jared's jaw clutched a bit. "I had a bad first experience in preschool. It was one of those exclusive schools where all the wizarding children came from pureblood families. I wasn't well received. I did get an education for the one day that I was there." There was something flat in his tone as if he didn't want to continue. He turned his head slightly to look at Ron. "It was a long time ago."

"Maybe it wasn't," said Harry, picking up on Jared's tone. "You were pretty defensive when you asked about your heritage."

Jared's nostrils flared a bit. "I was just four. They said I was a Mudblood." Ginny remembered him saying something about that. "That wasn't the worst of it. They called my mother that, too."

Ron's jaw had clutched at that moment as his hand rolled into fists. "Brats," he muttered.

"They said that you were a blood traitor," added Jared without glancing back at Ron. "I didn't know what that was at the time. I just knew that it was something bad. No one wanted to play with me because my father was a blood traitor. Not because my mother was a Muggle born witch. But like I said it was a long time ago. I know that you're not a blood traitor. You're my dad. And I wouldn't be here if you didn't go with your heart. Just don't get mad. Like Mum always says, it's a waste of energy. You should prove that you're better than them."

Ron didn't soften up much. He glanced at Bill and Ginny. They wore identical looks of anger. Ron unclenched his fists and raised up his arm and placed it around Jared's shoulders. "You're right about me being afraid of going into the Muggle world. And I sort of envy how you, Harry, and Hermione can go back and forth between this world and other. As far as I'm concerned, you represent the best of both worlds. After all, you're made from the best stuff."

Jared gave his father a smile. "Thanks."

Hermione woke up the following morning not feeling refreshed at all. She had kept the curtain drawn from the previous night. She got up and slowly opened them to let in some sunlight. It was cloudy instead. Sighing, she decided to get ready for the day. After that, she came down for breakfast to find that her mother had left to go early, while her father remained behind.

Michael Granger was never a great cook, but he did have one specialty: pancakes. He could make all kinds and he already had his daughter's favorites waiting for her on the table. "Good morning, love, did you have a good sleep?" he greeted cheerfully.

"Not really," confessed Hermione. Her father gave her a concerned look as he poured her a glass of orange juice. "Dad, do ravens come out during winter?"

"Well, most birds migrate South," answered Michael. "Why?"

Hermione shook her head. "It's okay."

"No, you can tell me. Even if it's about magic. I know that you're worried that your mother and I won't understand, but you know that we're trying."

"About that," Hermione paused as she looked at her father, "sometimes I think that Mum wants me to be something I'm not. I think she's disappointed or something. I didn't go to the same school that she went to. The one that you were planning on sending me before. And I'm not going to be a dentist. Dad, I don't even want a debut or anything when I'm eighteen. I don't even know what I want to do as a career."

Michael gently tipped her chin up to look at him as he smiled at her tenderly. "You aren't a disappointment, Hermione. You're everything you have to be. You're you. I know that your mother seems like she's getting really pushy about these things, but that's really your grandmother getting to her. You remember that when you have a child someday."

"Have you been talking to Mum about that? I'm only sixteen, Dad. I'm not going to have a child of my own anytime soon. In fact, I don't think I'll even get married. Unless, you want me to have a child without getting married."

"Let's not talk about that option."

Hermione laughed at the expression on her father's face. He didn't look at all happy at the prospect of anyone marrying his daughter, but he did look forward to the one good thing that might come out of it, which was having grandchildren. There came a knock at the door at the same time a smell from the stove. "Dad!"

"Um…yeah, I sort of forgot," said Michael sheepishly as he rushed to the stove. "Go see who's at the door."

Hermione got up and put her napkin down next to her plate. "Probably the fire department. The neighbors must have noticed the smoke." She went to go answer the door. She was utterly surprised and Jared greeted her with a smile. "Jared? What are you doing here?"

"I was in the neighborhood and decided to drop by," he answered. "Are you going to let me in or what?"

"Hermione, who is it?" asked her father as he walked into the living room. "Hello. And you are?"

"Hello, Dr. Granger. My name is Jared Blake. I'm the American foreign exchange student attending Hermoine's school," answered Jared. He held out his hand and shook hands with Michael.

"I thought you were staying with Ron and Harry," said Hermione numbly.

Michael was having a different reaction to Jared. The first thing he noticed were Jared's eyes. They were identical to Hermione's, but more importantly they were the same as Viola's. He also thought of Blake. The name of his in laws. "I was but I decided that I just had to go to London," said Jared.

"How did you find out where I live?" asked Hermione.

"Ginny gave me the address," answered Jared.

Michael smiled and said, "Why don't you come in? Hermione, where are your manners? You're just going to leave him out here? Look at him."

"Dad, he's not a homeless waif."

Michael ignored Hermione, "Come on in, Jared. Did you have breakfast yet?"

"I did," answered Jared as the door was closed behind him. "But I do smell pancakes. Are you having pancakes?"

Michael laughed, "Yes, we most certainly are. You look like a growing lad. Would you like to have some?" Jared would never turn down a stack of his Papa's pancakes. He almost called Michael that at the door. He nodded. "Well, then have a seat."

Hermione took her seat at her side of the table. Jared automatically took the seat right next to hers. Not because there was a chair that was simply there, but out of habit. They had to sit down and wait for Hermione's father to come back. "So where are Ron and Harry?"

"They went to the bank with Bill and Ginny," answered Jared. Now he really wasn't telling the truth. They were outside because Ron didn't really want to go inside, so the others agreed to stay with him. Jared wasn't supposed to stay for too long, but he couldn't turn down his grandfather's pancakes. "So, what are you up to? What kind of Muggle thing are you going to do be doing?"

"I'm going to go to that ball that I told you about," answered Hermione.

Jared nodded. "I know that you really don't want to go. Formal affairs don't seem like your thing. Maybe you should just tell your mother that you really don't want to go."

"It doesn't work that way. My mother gets her way on this because my grandmother will never let her hear the end of it. I might as well go and get it over with. I hope that you're having fun with the Weasleys."

"I was welcomed with open arms," reported Jared with a smile that was as irresistible as his father's.

"Here you go," said Michael as he set down a stack of pancakes in front of Jared and took his place at the table with a stack of his own. "So, you're a classmate of Hermione's? I didn't know that your school had an exchange program."

"Neither did I," admitted Hermione as she glanced at Jared who wasn't talking as he was eating the pancakes, looking extremely happy with himself. He seemed to be enjoying them immensely. "So, are you sending presents home to your parents?"

"Not quite," answered Jared after swallowing a bite. "This is great, Dr. Granger."

"Thanks," said Michael. There was something about this young man that he liked, but he couldn't quite put a finger on it. Maybe it was his warm brown eyes. Michael had steely blue ones in contrasts to his dark hair. The boy sitting across from him had the same coloring as Michael's wife and daughter. "So, I take it that your parents are Muggles, too?"

"No, Dr. Granger," answered Jared politely. It was odd to refer to his grandfather by such a formal title, but his mother always told him to show manners to people. "But my mother is a Muggle born witch, so I spend a lot of time with my Muggle grandparents."

Michael kind of breathed a sigh of relief. "So, it can be done."

"What do you mean, Dad?" asked Hermione.

Michael smiled softly at her. It was the smile that he reserved for her and would later use on his grandson. "Well, you're different from everyone else that your mother and I know. I guess that's why we were kind of worried about you being a witch. It wasn't the magic, but the fact that it's a different culture and society. Your mother and I talked about it a lot. As you get older you're supposed to spend time with your friends, but you're in a place where your mother and I can't really be in."

"And you're worried if I had any kids, you won't be able to see them as much?" asked Hermione.

Jared busied himself with the pancakes while they were talking. He didn't have the heart to correct her on that the word "kids." She wasn't going to have more than one just like her own mother. He finished the stack while they were talking. "Thank you for the excellent breakfast," he told Michael who seemed to beam at him.

"Would you like more?"

"No, thanks. I had breakfast with the Weasleys."

Michael looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "So, you also know Ron and Harry?"

Jared nodded. "I'm staying with them, but I like I said I wanted to go to London." He was licking his lips to get the last of the syrup. "I was wondering if Hermione wanted to go show me around. That is if she has the time." He glanced at her.

"I do have some time before the ball. It doesn't start until seven," said Hermione as she looked at her father. "I guess we could go out to London."

"I have to be at the office though. I have an appointment to do some work on a patient," said Michael. "I'm sure that Hermione won't get lost. Just don't get into any trouble while you're in London."

"Okay, Dad," said Hermione as she got up. "I need to grab my bag and I'll come back down."

Jared nodded as he picked up his dishes and grabbed hers. He walked to the sink with them out of habit. Michael stared at him as he walked away. Shaking his head, Michael picked up his plate and followed suit.

"Why didn't you just go inside with him?" asked Ginny impatiently. "It's not like you're a stranger. You're going to marry her and you're his father."

"Stop talking," moaned Ron as he shook his head. "Her parents are in there. Or at least her dad. You weren't there last summer when he was glaring at me."

Bill laughed as he looked at Harry who gave a slight nod. "So, the man's already suspicious of you? He must have an inkling that you're the one who's going to take his daughter away from him."

Ron's cheeks were bright red at the moment. He almost said something but they saw the door swing open as Michael Granger came outside. If Ron could use one word to describe Hermione's father, it would be imposing.

By the time, Ron was done growing, he was only a few inches taller than Michael. They both had blue eyes, but somehow Jared ended up with Hermione's. Michael, as Viola put it, was resembled a real life James Bond. Ron spent the first few years of his marriage to Hermione in fear of his father-in-law. It wasn't until they decided to bond together against a common enemy did they start getting along.

"Have a good day," said Michael as he kissed Hermione on her forehead. "And come back by four. Your mother will expect you to be here and to get ready to the ball. Look, don't try to get out of it. You know that I'll be blamed for it."

"Yes, Dad. Besides, I wouldn't abandon you to the vultures," Hermione assured him. "Have a good day at work. I'll see you at four."

"It was nice meeting you, Dr. Granger," said Jared with a nod and a wave.

Michael held out his hand and shook hands with Jared. "It was a pleasure meeting you as well, Jared."

As soon as Michael drove off, Hermione and Jared started walking down the street. "So, what are you really doing here in London?" she asked with the others trailing behind them.

"What do you mean? I'm supposed to pick up a present for my mother," replied Jared innocently.

Hermione gave him a look that made him slightly uncomfortable. She started giving him that look when he started to exhibit some of his more Weasley mischief causing tendencies at the tender age of two. He did what he always did when she gave him that look, he gave her a smile. "You know come to think of it, I need your help picking out something for Harry and Ron."

"Um…okay," said Jared reluctantly. "Look, I don't know what they really want. And I'm supposed to go to Diagon Alley to meet up with them."

"That's perfect. I wanted to get something for Harry there."

"What about Ron?"

"That's why I need your help." Hermione smiled at him as she grabbed his arm. Jared knew he wasn't going to like this.

* * *

AN: The beginning is tied to the next story. The story after this one takes place at the same time as this one does. However by Christmas time, next story has been concluded. There is something to be said about taking the time to write these stories and having them posted one after the other. It allows me to construct things more fluidly. 

I have been out for a little bit due to some personal and family issues. Thank you for your understanding.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.


	21. Shopping

Temporal Flux

Chapter Twenty-One: Shopping

"I knew you were the same size as Ron," commented Hermione as she looked at Jared in the mirror.

"Are we done yet?" whined Jared. "I'm tired of this. And I'm not here to be your living mannequin!"

Nearby, the others were having a good laugh at Jared's expense. Ron shook his head from time to time at the things that Hermione had been putting on Jared. Currently, he was in a leather jacket. "You sound like Ron," observed Hermione. "In fact, you complain like him." Jared glared at her. "I don't think this will do. Something else. Take that off." Jared cursed under his breath and peeled off the jacket. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt with a thermal underneath. He had his Time Turner hidden under that. "I'm not doing this anymore. I don't care. I'm out of here."

"Just one more," cajoled Hermione. "One. Come on." Jared gave her a pained look as he submitted himself to another jacket. This time it was a denim one. "This looks great. How does it feel on your shoulders?"

"It's fine. But you might one to get one that's a size bigger," answered Jared. He was really hoping to avoid going on a shopping trip that involved trying on clothes. Just one shopping trip with Hermione without having to try on clothes.

"You think so?"

"Yes, because Ron's still growing."

"You're right." Hermione nodded in agreement as went to go find a larger size. "Just one more. I promise. I need to see how it would look." Jared sighed and put on the jacket. "It does look good. We're done."

"Marvelous," muttered Jared as he took off the jacket and handed off to her. "Now, while you go and pay, I need to pick up something for my mother." He separated from her as she grimaced and went to a long line to pay for the jacket. Jared said, "I'll meet you outside the store when you're done."

"All right," agreed Hermione.

Jared walked around the corner and caught up with the others. He looked at Ron and said, "I guess your present's not going to be a surprise. And you should be happy because it's going to fit. I feel so used."

"Yeah, but it was pretty funny," said Ginny with a giggle. "You're so cute sometimes, Jared."

"Don't touch me," he said as she reached out for his cheek. "I'm not here for your amusement and I'm not cute."

"We should get something for Hermione," muttered Ron. "Great, I don't know what to get her." He looked at Jared.

"Don't look at me. I don't know what you should get her."

Ron raised an eyebrow at him. "She's your mother."

Jared shrugged. "I know. You'd think after spending nearly nine months inside someone you'd think that I would know what she'd like. But you've known her longer than me."

"You two are hopeless," muttered Ginny.

"You know the more I see you two together, the more it's obvious that you two are related," added Bill.

"At least you were told ahead of time. I have no idea how Hermione's going to react if she finds out," said Harry. "Why don't you go and get what you were going to get it her, Jared?"

"We have to go to the bookstore," answered Jared. "It's just across the street. Let's go. I wanted to get her a book."

"That sounds easy enough," said Ron.

Ginny clamped her hand on Ron's shoulder and stopped him. "In the name that is all good, please don't get her a book, Ron. You were doing so well. You got her that perfume before. That means that you must get her something along those lines. Getting her a book is like going backwards."

Ron argued, "But Jared's getting her a book."

"You're different," said Harry. "Jared's suppose to be a friend. At least that's how Hermione's supposed to see him, and you're supposed to be more than a friend. She's picking out clothes for you."

"Actually, she pretty much picks out our clothes," said Jared as they entered the bookstore. He went straight for the book that Hermione would like.

Bill smiled suddenly. It was the type of smile that one had when one had a brilliant idea. "I think it's not just the gift, but the way you give it to her that will count. Where are they holding this ball, Jared?"

"Um…at the Blake Estate. At least that's where I think it's being held," answered Jared with a confused look. "I'll be back. I have to pay for this."

"What are you talking about, Bill?" asked Ron, truly perplexed. He stared at his brother.

"Tonight is the night of this grand Muggle ball, and it doesn't look like she's too keen on going," pointed out Bill. "Maybe, you can pay a visit over there. You don't have to take her away from the ball, but you can at least see her."

"I don't have anything to wear," said Ron. "Nothing really."

"What about those robes that Fred and George gave you?" said Harry. "They maybe wizarding dress robes, but they're good enough to pass as Muggle clothes. You should see some of the wilder Muggle fashions." He picked up a random magazine and flipped a few pages. It was a magazine about Muggle celebrities. He showed them the pictures which elicited a laugh from the Weasleys.

Jared came back with a bag. "I've got it. So, what are you going to get her?" he asked Ron.

"I have an idea," said Ron.

Soon after, they split up and Jared returned to Hermione. Before they left, they had made plans to meet back in Diagon Alley in about an hour. Jared met up with Hermione and made it look like nothing happened. He told Hermione about his meeting with the others.

"Okay, but we can get there early? I still have to pick up presents for the others," Hermione told him.

Jared gave her a sidelong glance. "Why did you get Ron the only gift from here?" She gave him a slight smile, but wouldn't give him an answer as they continued to walk along. For some odd reason, Hermione felt safe being out and about in the Muggle world with Jared at her side. There was something comforting about his presence.

Safety was an illusion as they walked together. They were in danger without the person who was the most capable of protecting them both at their side. Hermione played around with the idea of telling Jared about seeing the Raven, but she remembered Ron saying before that he couldn't be trusted. She didn't know that Ron trusted him now.

Harry and the Weasleys were in Diagon Alley looking through Fred and George's shop. They were retelling what had happened that morning as they set up a plan to help Ron around Molly. The twins were experts on it, and it was best to leave this kind of planning to the professionals. Jared had given the address of the Blake Estate, which was right in London. It was one of those estates that had its own private park, making it seem enclosed in such a large city. Harry had taken the liberty of buying a map of the city and located the estate on it. They made some preliminary plans and later would ask Jared's input on the scheme.

"The trouble isn't how you're going to get there," noted Fred. "It's trying to get out from under Mum. It's one thing to ask to leave during broad daylight, but it's another trying to get out at night."

George added, "I don't think Harry will be able to go out either. Neither will Jared. None of you will be able to leave. Mum will say no."

"We know that," said Ron. "I knew this was a bad idea, Bill."

"But, we can leave," said Bill. "The adults can come and go as well please. I say we, Weasley brothers, just go out on the town. No offense to you, Ginny, but I doubt that you Mum will let you go either."

"I understand," said Ginny with a sigh. "I swear I can't wait till I'm an adult so I can do as I please."

"Even when you're adult, you can't do as you please," said Bill. "You are going to have to do a lot of things that you still don't want to do. Sorry to break it to you, but that's just how things are." He gave her a gentle smile.

Ginny sighed, "I thought so, but I guess I could help out by convincing Mum. She's going to be the brick wall you'll have to go through. You're going to need all the help you can get, Ron."

"This is going to be great. This is the first mass joint operation that the Weasley kids have ever done," said Fred proudly. "With some assistance from Harry, of course, but he's practically a member of the family. All of us will be helping out."

"All of us," echoed Ginny as she shook her head. "Percy's not here."

Her brothers looked at her, the twins were rather stern, as Bill said, and "He wouldn't approve of it anyway." But there was something else about the looks on their faces. It spoke silently for them. Neither Harry nor Ginny really knew why. Something had had happened during the time that they were in school.

Ginny folded her arms over her chest and pressed her lips together. Her older brothers didn't know the information that she knew, but Harry did. He was going along with what Harry and Jared said about not trying to change something that is obviously going to happen. So, both sides held information that neither was going to find out.

George broke the tension as he looked out the window, "They're coming in. We'll have to finish planning this later."

Jared opened the door for Hermione, letting her in first, and followed. He looked around the shop. It was larger than the one in Hogsmeade, but it would later on expand even more so. He was already distracted by one of the displays. Hermione greeted them with a smile. She walked up to them and greeted, "It's great to see all of you. I ran into Jared in London. He was—where'd he go? Jared, what are you doing?"

Jared snapped to attention and said defensively, "I was just looking! I wasn't going to buy anything."

Hermione gave him a perplexing look. "You were right behind me, and then you were gone. And why would I care if you bought anything or not? As long as you don't use anything on me, I don't care." Now that was completely the opposite from what Jared had heard from her before. On his third year at Hogwarts, she made him promise her that he wouldn't buy one more prank from any shop.

"Really?"

"I don't care."

Ron sensed that Jared was getting anyway with something. It was Jared's eagerness, and he had to stop Jared. "Don't do it," he said warningly. "Keep walking." Jared looked like he wanted to pout, but went. "I never get what I want," muttered Jared in a low voice. Ron shrugged. The others laughed, but Hermione stopped short.

"I make it my life to stop you from getting what you want," countered Ron amidst the laughter. Jared scowled at him.

"Leave him alone, Ron," said Hermione with some exasperation. The Weasleys looked at each other. Most of them would have argued that very few people would have any luck controlling Ron completely without him complaining excessively, but it seemed that Hermione was the only one who could pull it off. That didn't mean they wouldn't argue about it later. Jared had a smug look on his face when Ron stopped. "So, everyone is getting ready for Christmas? I wanted to—"she glanced at the clock on the wall. "Is that the right time?"

Fred and George turned and looked at it. They turned back and nodded. Hermione shook her head, "I'm going to be late. I have to go. I'll see you all later. I'll just owl your gifts. Sorry." With that, she was out the door. Jared glanced at the clock. "Oh yeah, she has to be home by four."

"Good, we need you to help us," said Bill. "Come along, Jared." Jared raised his eyebrow at him, but went along anyway.

Hermione sighed again as she stared at herself in front of the mirror. In less than half an hour, she was going to be at her grandmother's house and be around a bunch of people she didn't know nor did she want to know. She would have preferred to stay home with her parents or go see her friends. She dreaded going out to see the people at the party because she knew she wouldn't be able to relate to them. The more she thought about it, the more she dreaded it. But she couldn't take back the promise she had made to her father.

There came a soft knock on the door and Hermione went to go and answer it. She opened it and her father was standing there, wearing his tuxedo. "Hermione, help me with this thing," he told her, referring to his bowtie.

Hermione shook her head and smiled as she tied it for him. "Dad, why didn't you ever learn how to tie it?"

"I was never forced to learn. You know that your mother has been taking care of things like this for me for years," answered Michael with a laugh. "I would have asked her, but she was too frazzled by your grandmother. You should see her cell phone call list. The top calls of the day are from your grandmother."

Hermione shook her head again. "This isn't the Middle Ages, Dad. I feel like she's setting me up to marry me off."

Her father gave her assuring smile. "Don't worry about it, sweetheart. No one will marry you without getting through me first," he told her as he kissed her forehead. "Thank you for tying this." Hermione gave him a bright smile. "Now, that's more like it. So, how did it go with Jared?"

"We ended up going to Diagon Alley, but we ran out of time. I had to come back here to get ready," answered Hermione. Her hair was done in an elegant up twist 'do. She felt a little bare n the dress that she was wearing, but she also felt somewhat innocent. "He won't be around next year, I suppose, but he's fun to be around."

"Hmm," said Michael. "There's something oddly familiar about that boy."

"I was thinking that, but I can't quite figure out why," admitted Hermione. "But I'm glad you like him. Too bad Harry and Ron couldn't have made it. They were in Diagon Alley."

Michael slightly raised his eyebrow at that. "So, you saw them at Diagon Alley?" Hermione nodded. "What did they say?"

"There wasn't enough time, Dad. I had to come back here," she repeated as she gave him a quizzical look. "Why are you so suspicious? It's not my fault that I don't have any girlfriends. My best friends just happen to be boys."

"If I know anything it's the mind of a teenage boy," muttered Michael. "Just because you happen to be friends with them, doesn't mean you know what goes on in their heads."

"You didn't seem to have a problem with Jared while he was here. And in case, you didn't notice, Dad, he was a boy!" exclaimed Hermione. "I can't believe you. Why are you being like this? I go to bordering school already. I have to go there to get my education, but I would like to go home and just be with you and Mum without any problems. I don't like you bugging me about my friends."

Michael gave her an exasperated look. She looked very much like her mother, but that burst of temper was from him. Hermione was pacing up and down barefooted. Her sequined shoes were lying on the floor upturned. She folded her arms over her chest and sighed. Michael's expression changed from exasperated from to surprise. When did she start looking so much like her mother? When did she grow up so fast? Hermione wasn't the same little girl who used to ask him to carry her all the time. It was then that he realized that he wasn't going to lose her because she was a witch. He was going to lose her because she was growing up.

"Someday, when you have your own child, you will understand," Michael told her calmly. "You'll want to protect him or her from anything or anyone you perceive as a threat. That's when you'll understand why I seem crazy to you."

"They're my friends," said Hermione in a soft voice. "And just because they're boys doesn't mean that they're going to do anything to me. If anything, they treat me like a boy." She laughed, but it wasn't one of mirth. "It took four years for Ron to realize I was a girl. Four years." The hurt in her voice was something that only her father could hear.

That was more than a year ago. If Ron didn't notice before, he sure did now. That was Michael's personal observations. It was during the summer. Ron and his brothers and sister arranged to meet Hermione before the school year started to pick up supplies early. Michael had gone off with his wife and Arthur and Molly to go and have a bite at the Leaky Cauldron, but before that Michael witness as Ron and Hermione talked to each other with their heads together. There was definitely something there, even if the two of them didn't notice or denied it. "I'm sorry," muttered Michael.

"Michael? Hermione? Are you ready to get going?" called Viola from the hall. "We need to get there early. Mum's sent a car for us."

"I need to put on my shoes," called back Hermione as she tipped her shoes upwards and slid her feet in. "I see we're not driving to the festivities. Did Nana say that your cars weren't nice enough again?"

"No," answered Michael as he gave an admiring look. "You look beautiful. Just like your mother."

"Thanks, Dad," said Hermione with a smile that lit up the whole room. They left her room. Her mother was waiting for them downstairs. They had to get into the car. "Okay, I think I know why she sent the car," she whispered to her father. "She wants to make sure we can't run off."

"You've got in one, dear."

* * *

AN: Hermione thinks that Fred and George are a bad influence on Jared and she's right. Almost all their nieces and nephews adore them. Hermione has a tendency to be treated as one of the boys from time to time. It might be easy for Ron and Harry to do that, but her father's bound to notice. What have the Weasleys planned? Next chapter. I wonder why won't let me do a line break and divide the scenes like I normally do. This is staring to irritate me.

kirikarin. I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.


	22. Grandmother’s Ball

Temporal Flux

Chapter Twenty-Two: Grandmother's Ball

The house of Helena Blake was one of the biggest private homes in London. She was considered part of the upper crust of London society. Her family was one of the oldest and proudest families in all of England as well as her husband's, the father of Viola. When she was less than forty years old, her husband passed away. Since that time, she had had been married and divorced three times. Her only child was Viola, making Hermione her only grandchild.

By the old tradition, dating back a couple of generations, all the females in the family were named after women from Shakespearean works. Helena was a proud woman who sought to have only the best in her family, but the trick was it had to be based on her standards. She disapproved of the fact that Hermione didn't attend the same all girls' school that many of the women of their family had attended before. She blamed Michael for it. In fact, she blamed Michael for a lot of things. Helena still accused him of seducing Viola away from the family. The only bright spot that came out of Michael and Viola getting married was Hermione as far as Helena was concern.

However, the whole business of sending Hermione off to an exclusive boarding school irritated Helena to no end. It was her own personal requirement that every decision in the family had to go through her first. And she wondered why her daughter didn't visit or have tea with her that often.

In the future, she wouldn't show as much hostility towards Ron, but she still would make him dislike her intensely. She never called Michael and Ron by their names. She would be the doting great-grandmother to Jared.

"Hermione, dear, you look wonderful!" exclaimed Helena as she surveyed her granddaughter. "It's been ages since I've seen you. And you're growing up quite beautifully." She bestowed two kisses on the cheek. The kind that where lips never touch.

"Viola, you look wonderful as well," went on Helena. She turned her head to look at her son-in-law. "You look all right, Matthew."

Michael gritted his teeth to keep from saying something utterly unpleasant, but his wife had a hold of his hand. She gave him a gentle squeeze to remind him that she was there. So, Michael swallowed his words and gave a stiff nod instead. How he wanted to put the woman in her place. After all the pleasantries were exchanged, the Grangers moved along.

As the night went on, it became increasingly evident that her grandmother was showing her off to show the rest of the world that Hermione was growing up and was still a member of the Blake family. Needless to say, Hermione was looking for the nearest exit. Unfortunately for her, they were blocked.

Things were going well enough at the headquarters of the Order. Ginny and Harry were situated in the living room while Fred and George were making quite a mess in the kitchen. They had volunteered to make dinner that night much to the cringe of their mother. She was Harry and Ginny in the living room.

Ron, Jared, Bill, and Charlie were upstairs. Each time something crashed in the kitchen, Molly looked like she was going to get up and take over at that very moment. Ginny and Harry were watching each and very reaction she was making to the noise. "You know I just hope none of us gets sick from this," said Ginny quietly.

"I wouldn't know. I didn't think Fred and George could cook," said Harry with a shrug.

Ginny gave him a very serious look and muttered, "They can't." Just as she said that there came another crash and she winched. Harry looked at her slightly wide eyed. The others choose that moment to come trooping down the stairs.

"What was that?" asked Bill.

"Your brothers are trying to cook dinner," answered Molly. She got to her feet and was about to go towards the kitchen when she noticed that the four who had come down the stairs were wearing their coats, ready to go out. "Where are you going?"

"I have to go and put this in the post office," said Jared, holding up a parcel. "It's for my Muggle grandparents. It's already late. I'm going to get in trouble with my mother for forgetting them." He was pretty sure that Molly didn't know that the post offices were already closed for the holiday. It was a good thing that Arthur was gone on official Ministry business that would keep him from home for a bit.

"We'll go with him," volunteered Charlie. "And if you want, Mum, we'll pick up some extra food. You know…something edible."

"Do you need money?" asked Molly. She was almost cut off by the sound of another pot. "I don't have any Muggle cash on me. I think your father has some."

"Don't worry about it," said Bill. "I've got some. Okay, let's go before the post office closes."

"Yeah," agreed Ron. It was noticeable that he was wearing a longer coat than the others. Molly would have noticed that he was wearing some nice shoes if she wasn't so distracted by what the twins were doing.

They chorused as they went out the door, "See you later."

Molly didn't even have time to say goodbye as one of the twins shouted, "I can't believe you did that to me! Me!" She rushed to the kitchen as the smoke started coming from under the door. As soon as she was out the room, Harry said quietly, "Phase one is complete." Ginny smiled.

Hermione was getting pretty tired of each boy in her age group coming up to her, asking her to dance. She was also tired of listening to the other girls discussing the latest of everything: the latest style, the latest movie, the latest heartthrob. Hermione was tired of all the pretentious people and wanted nothing to do with them. She had no business being in this part of the Muggle world. She was too much like her father.

From time to time, she glanced over to her father was trying to hold his own against some of those people. Sure, he made a lot of money as a dentist, but he was from a working class family. He knew better than to spend his money on things that he didn't need. For one thing, he hated playing golf unlike most of the men at the party who lived and breathed the courses. He preferred playing pool, billiards, darts, and football, having done all of that in his youth.

"So, you're the granddaughter of Helena Blake? Where has she been hiding you?" asked one of the more boring, self absorbed boys. Hermione wanted to roll her eyes, but her good upbringing stopped her from doing so.

"I've been going to a boarding school," replied Hermione. "You know the type that's far, far away from here." Just like she wanted to be right that second as she had a cup made of cut crystal that was full of punch her hand. She wanted to pour it over the pompous moron's head. Once again, she restrained herself.

"You know you're very important here. You're the only grandchild of Mrs. Blake," pointed out the boy. "This estate is huge. So are the assets."

"I wouldn't know. I don't care for this sort of things," said Hermione blandly. "It's just money. If it mattered to me at all, I'd be doing everything that my grandmother wanted me to do. And exactly the way that she'd want it done, too."

The boy leaned in forward. "That is such a turn on," he murmured. He leaned in even closer and started to whisper things to her. With growing disgust that turned into rage, Hermione listened to what the prick had to say. That was enough. In less than a minute, he was covered in punch and his foot was throbbing from where Hermione had stomped on it. She stalked off to get away from him. "If you even think of coming near me again, you'll really be sorry," she warned him without turning to look at him.

"Hermione Jane Granger!" shouted her grandmother with horror from across the room. Obviously, she had been talking to the boy's father who wore a look of shock and then anger. "You apologize right now. That behavior is absolutely uncalled for!"

Hermione didn't hear any of it. She just kept walking, pushing her way through as many people while maintaining some of her dignity. She was nearly in tears at that point. She was angry and frustrated. Her mother was going to be mad at her later. She was ready to scream at anyone else who got in her way. Finally, she managed to push her way through one of the doors into the backyard. The reason why no one was going outside was because it was snowing on and off. Everyone stayed inside to keep warm. She just wanted to get away. She didn't care that she didn't have a coat or anything else. She just wanted out.

She was just out the door when she was collided with someone else who was on his way in. "Out of my way!" she exclaimed angrily as she pushed on his chest with all her might, but the person in front of her was almost immovable. After the she had first ran into him, he had dug his heels into the snow and prepared himself to be pushed.

"You're not going to get far with that dress, Hermione. It's too cold," he told her. Hermione was shocked as she finally looked up. Her eyes widened as she started to smile. He was sort of surprised to find her so easily and wearing that dress. It took longer than a minute for them to release that Ron was still holding her. When they both realized it, they both pulled away from each other at the same time. Ron forced himself to recover first as he cleared his throat nervously, "So, why are you so mad?"

"Why are you asking?"

"Because normally, I'm the one who makes you mad."

Hermione laughed. "You're not the only one who makes me mad. You just do it more often anyone else. It's just that the ball isn't any fun at all for me. I don't fit in with anyone there except for my parents. To tell you the truth, I've been dreading this thing and it's worst than I even imagined." She started to rub her arms. Ron draped his coat on her shoulders without her saying anything. She looked at him with some surprise again.

The snow flakes were slowly drifting onto his shoulders. He was wearing a set of dress robes that she had never seen before. It looked like it had been tailored for him. The shade was wonderful and from what she could tell when she had ran into him it was soft. The coat on her shoulders was still warm from his body. "Are you sure?" she asked him, referring to the coat.

"Yeah," said Ron as he glanced at her. She was beautiful with the snow gently falling. She brushed away a flake that had fallen on her eyelashes. She reached out to brush another one away, but he had gotten there first. "Now, why are you running out in the snow in almost nothing? You looked pretty upset for a second there."

"My grandmother," sighed Hermione. "She's always trying to make me something that I don't want to be. My mum can be just as bad, but she's not always like that. She tries to stop herself or my dad will stop her. My grandmother will never change. I sometimes don't feel like her granddaughter. I feel like something that she owns."

"I doubt anyone can do that to anyone," said Ron. "And even then, you'd be the last person to belong to anyone. Unless you want to that is."

"What are you doing here, Ron?" asked Hermione. "I know that it's not exactly Christmas Eve yet, but I'm surprised to see you here."

"Jared had a few errands to run. He had to mail something off to his grandparents, so Bill, Charlie, and I went along. But I figured that I'd drop by to see you. You've seen me at my home loads of times. I just wanted to see you at some place that was like that. Although, at the point it doesn't look like it."

"Why don't we go someplace warmer?" suggested Hermione. "I'll sneak you in. The party planner's going to have a fit if someone comes in with an invitation. Besides, I don't want to go back right now."

"And your dad's here," muttered Ron.

Hermione looked at him funny and shook her head as she took his hand. They both went inside as three other people lingered outside in the snow. Jared glanced at his uncles as they kind of stepped off. "I think that's it. Let's go get some food. I'm starving."

"What about your parents?" asked Charlie.

"I'd rather not watch if it's all the same to you," answered Jared as he wrinkled his nose a bit. It was one of the few gestures that he picked up from his mother. "Why don't we go and get the food already? Ron knows where to meet us again when he's finished. But neither of you have any idea of where you need to go."

"You're just like your father. A bit prudish when it comes to this stuff. Tell me, do you have a girlfriend?" pressed Bill.

Jared shook his head. "I like being footloose and fancy free. Look, my dad maybe okay with my mum as she is because he needs her to boss him around a bit. But I'm my own man."

Bill noticed the scar that was running along the neck of Jared, "Where'd you get that?"

Jared rolled his eyes a bit and said, "Not you, too. Dad already asked me about it. And I don't remember, okay?"

"All right," said Charlie as he glanced at Bill. "Let's go get some food. Ron only has so much time and so do we."

Ron could feel the warmth of Hermione's hand as she led him through the dark hallways of the house. He could barely see in the darkness. They paused from time to time as they saw parts of the party on going. They had to duck in corners to avoid being seen. Along the way, Hermione explained what she had done earlier, and Ron couldn't help it but smile. She couldn't see it though.

They continued until they exited out again. It was the front yard of the house. Ron had told Hermione that he was supposed to meet back with his brothers on the other side. He made no mention of Jared. Ron had to be careful about drawing comparisons between himself and Jared.

"So, what are you really doing here?" asked Hermione as she folded her arms over her chest. They were standing closer to the doorway and closer together to keep warm.

"You didn't sound too happy," answered Ron. "Today. And things are a little too boring at home. Harry's still not really talking much. You have better luck getting through to him sometimes than I do, Hermione."

Hermione gave him a soft smile as she gazed up at him. Normally, she couldn't quite reach his face with hers, but with the heels she was able to if she just tipped her chin upwards a bit. He would have to meet her part way still, but at least she was tall enough not to make it hard for him. She turned her chin upwards to look at him more directly.

Ron looked down at her startled at how close she was. He wanted to reach down and touch her, but he held himself back. She could hear what he was saying loud and clear. He came because he did want to be with her, but he was still filled with excuses. The excuses were a symptom of his doubt.

"Ron, I was wondering about something," she whispered. She decided to find something to talk about to fill in the silence.

"Hmm?"

"Have you seen that raven out and about?"

Ron's expression changed from relaxed to startled in a heartbeat. "Why? Have you seen it?"

"I think I did."

"Where? When?"

"At my house. Last night."

Ron pulled back from her a bit. With a drawing expression, he realized what he had been missing all along. "An Animagus," he whispered. "He's an Animagus."

"Who?" asked Hermione as her brows furrowed. "Who are you talking about Ron?"

"He knows where you live," went on Ron, ignoring her questions. "We have to get you out of here."

"What's going on Ron?" demanded Hermione. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what this is all about. Ron? Are you listening to me?"

Ron was in deep thought for a moment as he looked around at the trees. Surely, he could spot a raven in a sea of white, but the tree tops were too high up and they disappeared into the darkness. He reached his hand out and grabbed hers. "Do you even have your wand on you?" Hermione shook her head. Ron bit down a sarcastic comment about being careless, but he needed her to cooperate with him. "I've got mine."

He knew that he just left himself and Hermione expose to Magus. He put his other hand in his pocket to get a hold of his wand. He looked around again. "We have to get back inside," he said.

"Why Ron? You still haven't told me anything," said Hermione as she crossed her arms over her chest and stood firm. She looked scared at that moment because he wasn't answering any of her questions. His next action surprised even more. He lowered his head more and pressed his lips against hers. "Trust me," he whispered as he pulled back. "You know I wouldn't let anything happen to you. We have to leave now. We'll explain it to your parents later."

Hermione was too shocked by Ron's kiss to say anything else. He was now the one holding her hand and guiding her. She didn't even have time to really think of how warm and soft his lips were. The next thing she knew they were running away from her grandmother's house.

Jared, Bill and Charlie continued down the path towards the restaurant that Jared knew about. The air was very cold and Jared had put his coat collar up to stop them from staring at it. He walked a couple of paces ahead of them as well. Neither of them asked about it further. Jared saw a pond that was froze over. He stopped suddenly. It seemed that he was frozen in place.

"Jared," said Bill as he and Charlie caught up to him. "Jared? Are you all right?"

Jared shook his head as he yanked down the collar of his coat. He ran his finger against the scar a couple of times. "I remember now. My parents and I were just at the Burrow with my friends. My friends and I went out just for a little bit. It was the holiday after all and broad daylight. Nothing's suppose to happen then." His breathing was heaving.

Charlie gave Bill a frightened look. "You mean you've been here before? Obviously that's true," said Bill in a calming tone. He could see fear.

"I hate the water. I'm afraid of water," muttered Jared. "I can't go swimming in the lake at school. He came out of no where. Separated me from my friends. He pulled me under the water." His eyes were focused on the lake.

"Jared, snapped out of it," whispered Charlie as he tried to take a hold of Jared's hands. He was obviously having an anxiety attack.

Bill started to rub his back to snap him back into reality. "Come on, you're alive still. We're no where near the water."

"What's going on? Why are all three of you out here?" asked Hermione almost breathless. Ron had her hand in his. His eyes were immediately on Jared who was fighting for air. "Jared? Are you all right? Stop that. You're going to pass out. Jared—"

Suddenly, Jared's body went slack. Bill and Charlie had him by either arm, preventing him from falling. Ron released Hermione's hand and shouldered himself under Jared. "Jared? What's wrong?" He glanced at Bill and Charlie. "What happened just now?"

"We didn't do anything," explained Bill quickly. "One minute we're walking by the frozen lake. The next he was talking about how much he was afraid of the water. It didn't make much sense to me."

Charlie nodded in agreement, "But he was rubbing that scar on his neck. I think we should take him home. Why is Hermione out here?" The two oldest Weasleys looked at their future sister-in-law in their brother's coat. Self-conscious, Hermione pulled the sides of Ron's coat closer to her body.

"I can't explain right now. We need to get back to 12 Grimmauld Place," answered Ron as he took possession of Hermione's hand again. "It's not safe out here."

* * *

AN: Helena is one tough woman. She's one of those who mean well, but she really doesn't understand. She sort of does what Endora from Bewitched does with Darrin's name, which is never using the right one. Helena does it with both Michael and Ron. 

Jared does have his own fear. Just as Ron is afraid of spiders, Jared is terrified of bodies of water. He can take baths and whatnot, but if it involves getting in a boat, he can't do it. It is a logical fear as well.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.


	23. A Memory

Temporal Flux

Chapter Twenty-Three: A Memory

When Jared opened his eyes, he awoke to the sounds of Molly fussing over him. He was resting in a bed that was in one of the other guest rooms. The Weasleys didn't want to take up more room in the 12 Grimmauld Place than necessary, but it was suggested that Jared have a more quiet place to relax in. Molly pressed a warm towel against his forehead. "There, there. Now, don't get up yet," she whispered soothingly. Jared moaned as he tried to shift his head away from her. "Now, you have to rest. Don't be like that."

Jared was embarrassed about what had happened. Why did he have to hyperventilate like that? He passed out completely. He didn't want her asking after the scar on his neck. He remembered how he had gotten it in the first place. He swallowed. "Where's Ron?"

"He's outside with the others," answered Molly as she rung out the towel. "You gave us all a fright. I don't even know why Hermione is even here. Ron didn't say anything."

"I want to see m—" Jared stopped and closed his eyes. He almost ended up shouting that he wanted to see his dad. After he swallowed again and refocused, "I want to see Ron. Please."

Molly looked at him for a moment. She was about to say something else, but she reached her hand out and caressed Jared's cheek. "I didn't believe them when they told me. I wondered where they had gone. I'll go and tell your father that you're awake," she whispered gently. Jared was too tired to ask how she found out or rather who told her.

In less than a minute, Ron entered the room and closed the door behind him. He had changed out of his robes and was wearing jeans and a jumper. He strode over to Jared's side. "Are you all right?" asked Ron anxiously.

"I remember now. I remember how I got this," answered Jared quietly as he ran his finger down the scar. "It was from a dagger."

"A dagger?" asked Ron as he pulled up a chair. "How?"

Jared sat up a bit, but couldn't quite pull himself up. Ron helped him up a little. "It was during the winter holiday on my third year. Did I explain to you what you really do as an Auror? What level you're at?" Ron shook his head. "See, after Harry choose to leave the Aurors and become a teacher, you were offered another position. A new division within the Aurors was developed for violent crimes. You were selected to head up this task force. I mean by that time you had been an Auror for nearly twenty years. You started working as head of that task force when I started in Hogwarts, and Mum decided to go back as a full time Healer."

"And I was the one who went after Magus in the first place?" asked Ron. Jared nodded. "I was the one who took him down, but you didn't know how I did it in the first place."

"You try to leave your work at work as much as possible," confirmed Jared. "You didn't want to worry Mum or me. When I was younger, less than a year old there were various attacks on Aurors families that spanned over a year. You and Mum decided that it would be safer to go some place safe. I was six months old when we took shelter in Greece. Harry was our secret keeper. He was took off to travel on his own to Australia, the Caribbean, and the United States during that time. Nana and Papa had to come with us because you and mum were worried. They're just Muggles. It was like a year before we came back."

"But everything turned out all right. We came back to England and you continued working as an Auror. It wasn't until you became head of the task force. That's when a series of unsolved murders of Muggles, part-muggle wizards, and purebloods who sympathized with them were found dead. That was when Magus entered your life." Jared took a deep breath as he looked at Ron. "You were the only Auror who figured out that all the murders were linked. When Magus found out about you, he decided that you were the only one worthy of the game that he was playing. For the next year three years, capturing him consumed you. Mum got really worried about you. You were getting more and more distant during that time. I was away at school, but even I noticed it."

"Later on, it turned out that Magus was taking pictures of Mum at work and sending it to you at your offices. He even took pictures of me at Hogwarts over the first three years that I was there. I think that's why you were so consumed with it. Uncle Harry was keeping an eye on me. I wondered why he was pretty angry when he found me wandering out in the halls when I was too restless to sleep."

Ron could see that Jared found a memory of Harry yelling at him very amusing. The year before last, if Ron had to imagine Harry yelling at a child, he would have a hard time imagining it. However, Harry was going to be a very protective godfather.

"It came to a head just before Christmas," said Jared. "I was out with my friends Ari and Alex. We were going to just go out for a bit to have a snowball fight. You know that huge pond that was out near the Burrow? It's makes for a great place to have a snowball fight. It got very foggy all of a sudden. It was so thick that you could take a knife and cut a piece out of it. I got separated from my friends. At first I could hear them, but I couldn't hear them anymore after a while."

"Just like the forest," murmured Ron. He remembered how Hermione and he called out for the others.

"I was all alone. I didn't know that was on top of the pond," continued Jared. "Suddenly I heard someone slam something on the ice. I felt the ice give way under me and I sank into the water. I was wearing heavy clothes to keep warm. I couldn't move and I was sinking. That's when the fog cleared. I saw him. I saw Magus standing over me." Jared was having some difficulty keep him breathing steady. Ron reached out and placed his hand on top of his. "He just pulled me out of the water. I think that Ari and Alex ran back to the Burrow to tell you what was happening. Because I could hear you shouting."

"You told him to let me go. Magus had a dagger in his hand. He tried to slit my throat, but I managed to moved just enough so that he couldn't get the blade deep enough. He let me go into the water and I sank back in. It hurt a lot and I was screaming my head off. The water was so cold and I was losing blood. I passed out."

"The next thing I remember is that you were pounding on my chest to get the water out, but it's all hazy. I think you carried me back home and Mum had to look at it. I ended up waking up in the hospital. There were all kinds of tubes and stuff attached to me. At the time, I didn't remember what had happen and I had missed the first week back from school. The most important thing was that Magus had been brought in and was sentence to Azkaban."

"You don't know how it happened?" asked Ron as he got to his feet. "I don't understand why you would have to stay at the hospital for so long. But I did figure out something. Magus is an Animagus. He can turn into a raven."

"So, that's how he can make it like he's appearing one moment and disappearing the next," said Jared. "Actually, the dagger was made out of an alloy. It contained lots of iron and something else. Someone developed it and it was something that he used to kill the purebloods that he hated. I had blood poisoning from it. But being a half-blood is what kept me alive. He knew that Mum was a Muggleborn witch, but even half-bloods have a fifty-fifty chance of survival if cut by that alloy. And children are even more likely to die. I had to continue taking potions to prevent a relapse for a year. I hated going to Madame Pomfrey getting it, too. She'd give me long lecture every time I was late. And since I couldn't remember what had happened, I was pretty upset about not being able to play Quidditch."

Ron sighed and shook his head. "That would be enough for me not to let you play Quidditch. So, when did you get to be on the team?"

"My fifth year," answered Jared. "But I was asking the year before that because a beater position had opened up. Last year the keeper position opened up and after a whole summer of asking over and over again, Mum got you to at least let me try out." There was a pause as Jared went on again, "I just didn't remember what had happened until now. My friends didn't really know either. Ari and Alex said it was pretty scary that there was blood all over you and me. But Grandmum sent them out of the room before they could see anything."

"It's my fault something happened to you in the first place," whispered Ron. "You're lucky that Hermione's going to be a Healer."

"Ron, what did Grandmum say? She knows who I am?" asked Jared suddenly. "Did you tell Hermione?"

Ron shook his head, but his eyes widened. "Hermione doesn't know. I didn't say anything to her, but my mum knows? Who told her? Maybe you're right, no one in this family can keep a secret. I just left her out there with them." He got to his feet again. "This is getting to be too much. Magus was at the Grangers' house just yesterday evening."

Jared's eyes widened at that statement. "What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know," muttered Ron. "You said before that I learned how to do some of the Auror spells. Which ones do you know about?"

Jared's brows furrowed in thought for a moment. "There's wand transfiguration. You can change a wand into different objects."

"Why would that be something worth learning?" asked Ron. "I mean you can throw spells in a duel with a wand."

"Not if you erect a barrier with talismans," explained Jared. "It's not that hard to do. It happened in the Ministry of Magic over twenty years ago. It was covered up. I don't know exactly what year it happened, but parts of the Ministry were blown apart. Someone had put a barrier that kept the Minister officials from getting inside. The problem with wizards is that they are trained to rely upon wands too much. They don't train themselves properly to fight in hand to hand combat. At least your average run of the mill wizard doesn't. The transfiguration of a wand is difficult to do, but if a certain type of a barrier is up, the spells can be absorbed by it."

"You're learning this in your DADA class, aren't you?" asked Ron. "That explains something though." He glanced at Jared. "A big section of the Ministry was taped off from the public. It wasn't the same places where the summer incident happened. It happened sometime in November. I haven't seen the damn itself, but it was enough for the Prophet to cover it. The Ministry is writing it off as a remodeling job."

Jared pulled himself up a bit more with a slight wince. "What part?"

"The courtrooms," answered Ron as he folded his arms over his chest. "The big meeting that the new Minister had with the world delegates had to be moved the following day. I mean how many people plan on doing remodeling in the middle of important meetings like that. With what's been going on, I didn't think it was that important. In fact, this is irrelevant right now. What we're talking about is something that is going on outside current timeline and that's what we have to focus on. It's about you and Hermione. And me." He paused again. "It's all my fault that this is happening."

"I didn't listen you back there," said Jared quietly. "You said that there was no way you would send me back warn you about it. I left with very little information. I was also angry with you for not trusting me."

Ron straightened up and gazed at him. "Did it even occur to you that I might have been trying to protect you? Look at yourself. You've got a scar on your neck because of me." He shook his head and was going to say something else, but he didn't want to get angry with Jared. Instead he went to the down opened it and left. He let it swing close behind him.

When Ron came back, he saw that everyone was looking at him expectantly. He noticed that Ginny and Hermione were gone. "Ginny is lending some clothes to Hermione," said Harry, knowing Ron's question before he could ask it. Ron nodded.

"You were saying that you knew about Magus," continued Harry. "What did you figure out?"

"He's an Animagus," answered Ron. "This isn't the first time that he's gone after them to get to me. That scar on Jared's neck is from the first round. There are going to be some amazing and disturbing advancements in the ways that we try to hurt each other. Where did Mum go?" He looked around and saw on his brothers and Harry.

"She's waiting for Dad," answered Charlie. "She just left after she told you that Jared want to see you. It was Fred who let it slip."

"Magus is out there," said Ron. "It's not his real name. He just pulled his name out of the word for what he is. He's the raven that was out in the forest and he knows where the Grangers live. We have to make sure nothing happens to Hermione's parents." He looked at each one of them and they looked back at him expectantly. "Look, I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm not anything yet."

"But you have the potential," pointed Harry. It seemed that the boys had discussed it among themselves, and Harry had been elected to speak for the group. "Magus can't get to you, even now. He knows the only way to get to you is through them. I think we have to tell Hermione what's going on, even if she doesn't believe a word of it."

"No," refused Ron coldly. "We aren't telling her anything. Too many people already do."

Molly and Arthur walked in that moment. Ron stopped talking and turned around. He walked out of the room and back towards the room that Jared was staying in without saying a word. Arthur immediately went after him.

He wasn't entirely surprised that the door had been locked with a spell. "What did he say?" demanded Arthur loudly without turning around. He repeated when none of them gave an answer, "What did he say? I will not continue having these kinds of secrets in my family, do I make myself clear?"

Jared looked at Ron with alarm when he heard what Arthur had said. "What the bloody hell does that mean?" he asked. Jared rarely heard his grandfather raise his voice like that.

"I have no idea," muttered Ron. He kept his back on the door for a moment longer and stepped forward "How are you feeling? Are you well enough to move?"

"Yeah," answered Jared with a nod. "Why?"

"Because you need to go back to Hogwarts," answered Ron. He heaved a sigh at the end. "If you're gone, Hermione won't be asking as many questions. If you two stay in the same place, it will be too easy for him to find you both."

"What kind of plan is that?" asked Jared with great apprehension.

Ron heard his father knocking on the door, giving him a chance to open it "It's not," whispered Ron. "Get up and get dressed. There's a bathroom through that other door." He referred to the one on the left. Jared got up slowly and went to the bathroom after grabbing his clothes were hanging on the other door, which led to a closet. He was just in his boxers and a shirt. As soon as the bathroom door was closed, Ron opened the door to let his father in.

Arthur had his hand raised to hit the door again and was a little stunned when Ron opened the door. He was confront with his son who was nearly as tall as him and looking straight into his eyes. "I did what I had to do," said Ron quietly as he gripped his wand tightly. He knew that Jared was listening at the door.

Arthur closed his eyes for a moment. "I already lost a son," he whispered quietly. Ron didn't know what to say about that. No one else in the family other than himself and Ginny knew that Percy was dead. Ron was starting to wonder just if his father already knew it. "Then, you know why I have to do this," whispered Ron back to him.

The door opened and Jared peeked out a bit. "Come on Jared," said Ron loudly without turning around. Jared shrugged and closed the door behind him. His shoes were at the foot of the bed, so he grabbed them and exited the room. He had neglected to put his socks on as well. Ron let him exit out first.

Molly had gotten in their way. Jared looked at Ron. "Where are your socks, dear? Your feet must be cold," she told him.

"It's all right, Mrs. Weas—"

"Now that's not right," Molly chided. "I don't know why I didn't see it before. You have your father's bone structure. And your feet looks like just like his and so do your hands." She lifted them up to look at them. Jared turned his head to gave Ron a pained look.

"Mum, leave him alone. Ginny's doing a good job keeping Hermione distracted. Jared has to go back to Hogwarts," said Ron as he smiled slightly. He said as he put his hand on Jared's shoulder. "Put your socks on before Hermione gets back here." Jared shrugged and sat down on one of the chairs and puts them on. "So, you do listen to me on occasion?"

"When I feel like it," said Jared using his American accent again. Ron sighed.

Arthur put his hand on Ron's shoulder. "You'll have the patience. Parents grow with their children," he told him knowingly.

Jared got up when he got his shoes on. Hermione came back wearing some of Ginny's clothes. They all went quiet when she came in they all went silent. "What's going on? Jared, why are you up?"

"I'm feeling better. I just got a sudden call from my relatives here in England. I'm not that close to them, but they've invited me to see them for Christmas. Looks like I won't be joining you after all," he explained smoothly. "Oh, by the way, before I forget, I have your Christmas present in the other room. I'll go get it." Jared went pass her. Hermione looked directly at Ron with a perplexed look, but he looked straight at her and shrugged.

"You still didn't tell me what's going on Ron," said Hermione quietly.

"Trust me," said Ron as he walked passed her to join Jared in the other room.

Hermione turned her attention to everyone else. "Why am I the only one who doesn't know what's going on here?" She looked at Harry who looked away from her. "This has something to do with Jared, too, doesn't it? Look, either someone is going to tell me what's going on or I'll figure it out on my own." She sighed when she saw that none of them held any expression of giving in. "Harry, can you lend me Hedwig? I have to write my parents."

"Sure," said Harry as he got to his feet. "Ginny, come with us." He needed to make sure he wasn't alone with Hermione too long because he was afraid he'd cave in. So, Ginny followed along.

"Well, this is all very interesting," said Charlie, breaking the silence. "I mean it's not like we're not saying something important to them."

Bill looked at their parents. "It's not like we can explain it because we don't know what really happened, do we, Dad?"

Arthur shook his head.

Ron helped Jared pack up his things. "I don't know if this is such a good idea," said Jared softly. He paused. "Maybe we should tell her the truth." He glanced at Ron.

"You were the one in the first place who didn't want to tell her anything," pointed out Ron. "This is the best I can come up with. I don't think that anyone could have come up with something better. I wish I had a better on."

Jared sat down on the bed. "It will be the first time I've ever had a Christmas without any family. I normally go home every winter holiday. I don't even know how I'll get back onto the school grounds. Aren't they closed for the holidays anyway? How am I supposed to explain it?"

"You mentioned that Dumbledore already knows? So does De Luca. And Snape probably has a vague idea. It won't be that hard for you to get back to the school," answered Ron. He gave a chuckle, which made Jared look at him funny. "I didn't think I was capable of thinking like this."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. I always thought that Harry and Hermione were so much smarter than me. I'm the sidekick that offers all kinds of sarcastic commentary."

Jared laughed. "Actually, when you're sarcastic, you tend to be right. At least from what I've noticed. You make good observations that way." He picked up the bag from the bookstore. "I didn't get time to wrap it, but I guess she won't mind."

Ron picked up Jared's bag and carried it out. "I just wish you'd trust me more, Ron. I can take care of myself."

"I do trust you," said Ron at the door. "It's the rest of the world that I have a problem with. You know I really should apologize to my parents for being a pain."

* * *

AN: Jared and his father are very close. It is the incident in his third year that kept him from joining the Quidditch team for two years. Ron became very overprotective of his child. The part that the rest of the family was discussing tie into the next fanfic. Ron wants to protect both Hermione and Jared. He also starting to notice that the more annoying qualities that Jared possesses come from him. 

kirikarin. livejournal . com (take out the spaces)

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.


	24. Kiss and Tell

Temporal Flux

Chapter Twenty-Four: Kiss and Tell

When everyone gathered again for dinner, it was a tense affair. Hermione didn't mention the kiss to Ginny at all because Ron acted like he hadn't done anything. She had a feeling that he was thinking of something else. There was something that was really worrying him because he seemed more anxious than anyone else. Molly wouldn't allow Ron just to send Jared on his way without feeding him first.

If anything, it seemed that more attention was being heaped on Jared as Molly heaped more food on his plate. He was as polite as his parents had taught him to be and he didn't want to hurt his grandmother's feelings. He was sitting between Ron and Arthur. Jared didn't feel very hungry as he twirled one a noodle around his fork. It was one of his favorite dishes, spaghetti and meatballs.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," said Jared politely as he tried to eat some more. "It's very good."

"I'm glad you like it," said Molly.

Jared gave her a grin. "I love international food. I've been all over the ethnic enclaves that are near where I live."

"They have a lot of India food and Chinese food as well in London," offered Hermione. "I think that there's a Chinatown in every major city in the world. At least that's from what I noticed. Too bad you're not staying around London long enough. I could take you around."

Jared nodded, "My mother said it started when she was pregnant with me. She wasn't putting on enough weight early on and so she decided to take off from her job at the hospital before she was supposed to. She stayed with her parents while my dad went off to work. I suppose she was watching too much television during that time." He laughed. "You see she started carving whatever she was seeing on the screen. My dad didn't want her Apparating all over the world because of her condition, so he did."

Ron nearly choked on his water, while everyone else was laughing. "My mother told me that the first thing he said when I was born was, 'So, you're the one I've been going all over the world for.' At least that's what she tells me. My dad has never denied it." He glanced at Ron. "Are you all right, Ron?"

"Fine," croaked Ron. "It just went down the wrong way." He saw that Jared was on the verge of laughter. "You've got a lousy sense of humor if you're going to laugh right now."

"I've been told that I've inherited my father's sense of humor," Jared told him mildly. Arthur laughed first, followed by everyone else. Hermione was clueless, but she was getting the feeling that Jared was just teasing Ron.

"I see," said Ron. He said the next thing through his teeth, "By the way, I've been meaning to apologize for any headaches that I might have caused for you, Mum and Dad. It's come to my attention that I can be very annoying."

"Downright obnoxious actually," corrected Fred.

George added, "And stubborn as a pig."

"That's enough, you two," chided Molly as she settled down with a plate of food for herself. These days she spent more time serving food than actually eating it. But for the first time in weeks, Molly felt at ease with the knowledge of Jared's existence. She smiled fondly at her grandson. "Are you sure you'll be all right, Jared?"

"I'll be fine. I can take care of myself," answered Jared. "If that's one thing my parents made sure of, it's that."

"Do you ever worry about your father having such a dangerous occupation?" asked Arthur, remember what Jared had said before.

Jared nodded and said, "It's what he does though. It's important. No one else can do the job that he does because he's the best at it. He doesn't talk about his work that often because he doesn't want my mother and me to worry about him. Not knowing sometimes is worse. At least what my mother does isn't dangerous in the least. She makes sure that things come out all right one way or another."

The rest of the dinner went on with less tension because of Jared's more humorous comments. The twins, Bill, and Charlie delighted in asking questions about his father, while Ron didn't know whether to laugh or deny things that hadn't happened yet. Ginny reminded rather solemn and it seemed like she wasn't there from time to time. She knew that Ron had other things to think about, but she couldn't help but think of the empty space that she felt.

When dinner concluded, they were graced with the company of Remus Lupin who none of the people from Hogwarts had seen until that moment. Jared was greeted warmly as he observed the ongoing conversation.

"Can I talk to you later, Arthur?" asked Remus. "I mean in private." Arthur gave a nod as an answer. There was definitely something going on as Arthur excused himself from the room for a moment to do something. Jared didn't have time to really think about it because he soon found himself under the gaze of Remus. "So, you're leaving? Whereabouts in America are you from Jared?"

"Los Angeles," answered Jared smoothly. "So, how well do you know everyone here? I was told that this is the headquarters for the group that has worked with Dumbledore since the last time that Vo—I mean You-Know-Who was around." In his generation, they were taught not to be afraid of the name.

Remus nodded. "Why are you leaving so soon? I don't think it's in the Weasleys' nature to throw anyone out," he said with some amusement.

"My relatives in England want to see me. My parents got in contact with them. I just wished they would have figured it out sooner, but my parents are busy people so it's understandable."

"What is it your parents do?"

"My father is an Auror and my mother is a Healer."

"Very interesting."

"I always thought so."

There was a lull as Remus seemed to study Jared at great length for a moment. He shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I think that I should get going soon," he said. Yet he didn't seem to be able to move from the chair. They were staring at each other now.

Ron cleared his throat to interrupt what was happening. "Jared, are you sure you're ready? My dad will take you. Right, Dad?"

"Yes," answered Arthur with a slight smile at Jared. It looked like it was for his son, but it was really for his grandson. "Come along. We mustn't keep them waiting."

"Of course," said Molly, but she didn't look entirely too happy about it. For some odd reason, neither she nor Arthur objected to Jared leaving. It seemed that they were following along with whatever Ron had to say or what he thought was best. "I do have something for you, dear." She handed him a bundle that was wrapped in brown paper. "Now, don't you open it until Christmas, you hear?"

Jared nodded as he accepted the lump bundle. He already knew what was in it. He had been getting a Weasley sweater every year since he was born. He had a feeling it was in maroon. Not that Jared minded so much. Molly had a tradition of giving her grandchildren whatever color sweater she had knitted for her children. Rather impulsively, he embraced her and Molly hugged him back with all her might. He normally would have given her a kiss on the cheek, but decided against it. "Thank you for everything," he told her.

She smiled back at him. "I was right. I can tell that your parents taught you good manners."

Jared laughed as he turned his attention to Hermione briefly. "Here's something for you. It's not much, but I hope it's something you like. Have a Happy Christmas," he told her. "I'll see the rest of you back at school."

"Are you sure you're all right to leave?" asked Hermione suddenly. "I mean what about what happened to you earlier?"

Jared gave her a gentle grin as he answered, "I think that I'll feel better as soon as I get back with my relatives. Perhaps, I'm just a little homesick. I've been in England for a long time now."

"All right," agreed Hermione as she gave him a brief hug. She could see that Ron wasn't reacting the way she had expected as he watched them.

"Let's go. See you all later," said Jared. "I'll see you back at Hogswart." He gave them a wave as he walked up to Arthur. They walked into one of the dens. It was the only one that had a fireplace that went out of the old manor. He threw some Floo Powder into the fire and said the name of an inn that was in Hogsmeade. As soon as he was gone, Jared followed the same procedure.

To Jared's surprise, they were met by Professor De Luca. He looked at them expectantly. "Who told you I was coming?" asked Jared as he looked at his grandfather for an answer.

"I had to tell someone to make sure that you stayed safe and out of trouble," answered Arthur.

Jared spun around completely to face him. "My dad doesn't know about this. You didn't tell him you were going to do this."

"Now, now," said the professor calmly as he got to his feet from the soft chair that he was sitting at. "There is no reason for you to be upset. I have already figured out who you were weeks ago. I was wondering why you were even here. Arthur contacted me earlier."

"That's why you left when Remus Lupin came. You were calling him."

Arthur licked his lips as he saw his reflection in Jared's eyes. How betrayed he must have felt at the moment. It was the same look that Arthur had seen for the briefest instant on someone else's face. "I have to do what it takes to keep you safe. Your father isn't old enough yet nor does he have the experience to even fathom what it might feel to lose you," Arthur told Jared plainly.

Jared's expression softened slightly. Arthur marveled at how much he resembled Ron. He put his hand on his shoulder and pulled him into an embrace. "You keep yourself safe. We will do what we can to keep your parents safe as well. Happy Christmas," he murmured softly into Jared's ear. Arthur pulled back and placed a kiss on Jared's forehead. It was a gesture that Jared remembered as a small child. Arthur turned his attention to Professor De Luca and simply said, "You keep him safe."

"I will."

Arthur left before they made their way to the castle in silence. Jared wondered if he was going to have to face Dumbledore. This wasn't Order business at all. He also wondered what was going on back where his parents were. The biggest question of all was what was going to happen next.

Things were pretty much at a stand still while Hermione was there. Ron didn't want to talk about Magus while she was awake with Ginny. However, she wasn't making it easy not to talk about Jared. She was worried about him obviously. Ron forced the twins to lend him one of the Extendable Ears to listen until Hermione and Ginny went to sleep.

"What's going on? It seems sort of sudden to send Jared on his way like that," said Hermione as Ron listened. "I have a feeling that your brother had something to do with it. What happened? I mean you kept me in here for a while picking out clothes."

"Hermione, haven't you noticed how similar Jared is to Ron?" offered Ginny. She was aware of the fact that anyone could be listening to their conversation. That and did notice Fred handing something to Ron earlier. "I mean other than just personality wise."

"Well, I did find out earlier that they were the same size."

"Other than that."

Hermione paused for a long moment contemplating what Ginny was asking of her. "He doesn't have red hair like Ron. But he seems to have the same body structure. That's kind of odd, isn't it?" She turned her attention to more pressing manners. "Are you sure it's okay that I borrow your clothes for tonight until I can get my own? I don't know if my mum will be okay with me coming back for just my clothes. She's probably very ticked off right now."

"It's all right," said Ginny brightly. "After all what are sisters for?" Hermione gave Ginny a strange look. What a strange phrase to be using. Ginny immediately corrected herself, "What I mean is sometimes I think you're like the sister I've never had."

"Oh," said Hermione as she bit her bottom lip. She had something to talk about. She wasn't particularly close to any of the other girls at Gryffindor, but she didn't know if she wanted to bring it up with Ginny, especially since it concerned Ron. "Ginny, something happened. It was the way that Ron showed up suddenly. He came to see me at the ball. At the time I was just grateful to be away from there, but now I'm wondering why he did it. Then, Jared collapsed and just left, so I can think about it now."

When Ginny didn't say anything, it prompted Hermione to continue, "I wasn't going to go with him. He said something about the raven. I didn't tell you, but Ron and I saw one when we got lost outside of the maze for Professor De Luca's class. He saw it outside. We both did. It was black in a sea of white. He told me we had to go, but I couldn't just go. Then, he kissed me."

Now that got Ginny's attention as she stared at Hermione somewhat dumbfounded. "H-he kissed you? My brother, Ron, kissed you?" she practically squeaked. She went on in a hurried pace. "Where? I mean did he kiss you on the cheek or on the lips? How long was it? Did anything else happen? Tell me! For Merlin's sake, don't just stand there!" Ginny was very excited as she grabbed Hermione by the shoulders and shook her vigorously.

"Calm down, Ginny. Not so loud," pleaded Hermione as she blushed. "Other people might hear you. Stop. Calm down."

Ron who was listening carefully wasn't paying much attention to the discussion that Harry was having with his brothers. It was Charlie who noticed that Ron had turned as red as tomato, which really clashed with his hair. "What's wrong, Ron?" he asked.

"Nothing," muttered Ron as he didn't pull the Extendable Ear away. He just had to find out what Hermione thought of him. He was calling more attention to himself as Fred and George got to their feet and made a grab for the Extendable Ear. Bill, Charlie, and Harry stood back a little bit because they didn't want to get involved in the scuffle.

Ginny was staring at Hermione intently in the other room. "Well? You said you were going to answer me?"

"Why are you so excited for Ginny?"

"Because of morbid curiosity. Come on now. On with it."

Hermione regretted saying anything. She should have never brought it up at all. She sighed, "He kissed me on the lips. It wasn't that long. Maybe a second or two. He wanted me to come along with him and I didn't want to. That's when he kissed me."

"I never knew you to be the type of girl who just went along because a boy kisses you, Hermione," teased Ginny. "I guess it depends on who that boy is, doesn't it? So, this begs the question how do you really feel about my brother, hmm?"

"Leave me alone," moaned Hermione, avoiding the subject all together.

Meanwhile in the other room, Fred and George had managed to get up close enough to hear what was making their younger brother so red. They pulled back when they heard Hermione's answer to Ginny's question. The twins were giving Ron a pretty strange, yet stern look. "You kissed her?" asked Fred, quite flabbergasted. "You?"

"Come on…now, don't be shy. You obviously get to kiss more times than that one time tonight. After all, you're going to have to do a lot more than kissing to pop out a kid," added George slyly.

Bill came to Ron's rescue, "Lay off him, you two. What kind of uncles are you going to be? I declare that Jared's penchant for trouble making is heavily influenced by you two."

Harry was trying very hard not to laugh at Ron, but there was definitely a smile tugging at his mouth. Charlie joined the twins in the teasing. "So, that's how you got her to come along with you? You must be quite the kisser."

Ron could only repeat what Hermione had said earlier, "Leave me alone!" It seemed like that bright red hue on his face wasn't going to go away any time soon.

Just as Jared had predicted he was ushered up straight to Professor Dumbledore's office. It was much different from the office he was used to. Jared had made frequent trips to that office in his own time. The other time that Jared was in Dumbledore's office, he hadn't really taken a close look around. It seemed that Professor Dumbledore was a man who liked puzzles because there seemed to be a few of them about. Jared was immediately drawn to Fawkes who had just finished a burning day, so the phoenix was a beautiful red color with gold feathers.

"I see that you have returned to Hogwarts so soon, Mr. Blake. Or would you prefer Mr. Weasley?" asked Professor Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye.

"What happen to calling me just Jared?"

"You are very much like your father. Tell me, do I get to meet you later on? I am curious."

Jared looked at the Headmaster directly. "Yes, I was about two or three. My parents came here for some sort of event. It was during the summer. I managed to get separated from them and wandered up here. You asked me who I was and I asked you who you were. I wasn't supposed to talk to you. You were a stranger after all at the time. But you let me call you Bumblebee."

Professor Dumbledore chuckled at Jared's account. When he was done, he said, "It is a bit of a relief to meet you, Jared. The last few years have been rather difficult. Even I am allowed to have some of my own doubts. So, I take it that Harry Potter is your godfather?"

"He is," replied Jared. "A very protective, caring, and loving one as a matter of fact. If there was anyone who loves me just as much as my parents do, he does. And that's saying a lot."

Jared's statement seemed to put Professor Dumbledore at ease. Jared never noticed how tense Harry would get at the mere mention of the Headmaster. "I need you to explain everything to me right now, Jared. If any of my students are in danger, I must be made aware of it."

Jared knew there was no way out of it, so he started telling Dumbledore the whole story from beginning to end without stopping or diverting into things that were unimportant. When he was done, the Dumbledore looked like he was in deep thought as he regarded Jared's problem. "Coming here was probably meant to be," concluded Dumbledore. "You were meant to be here."

"I don't know what's going on back there. Ron thought it was a good idea to send me back here because Hermione's with him now. I'm starting to think that it might be easier just to tell her what's going on, but Ron said no."

"And you're going along with it?"

Jared shrugged. "I have selective hearing. But you can't really expect me to sit idle when bad things are happening. That's really how injustice can happen. At least that's what my father always says."

"Your father is right," said Professor Dumbledore. "But do you understand the ramifications of your actions? The Ministry of Magic has very stern punishments for those who tamper with the time stream and I'm afraid you have caused many violations."

"I'm aware of that, but I don't think my grandfather, who works for the Ministry, really cares and neither does my grandmother. And even now, I know that you aren't getting along any better with the Ministry than I am. Of course, by the time I come along, the spells are better developed."

"I see. I suppose I have to give some credit to Hermione on your ingenuity," said Dumbledore musingly. "I won't even ask."

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore," said Jared as he got to his feet. "If you don't mind, I've had a hard night and I need some sleep." The professor nodded and Jared exited the room.

He returned to the Gryffindor common room and found that it was pretty much empty. Most of the parents preferred to have their children home with them for the holidays and with the attacks that were going on from the Death Eaters, none of them were willing to leave their children over the holidays. To Jared, that didn't make much sense because Hogwarts happened to be one of the safest places to be. He doubted that most of the other children's parents' houses were anything like 12 Grimmauld Place. So, Jared had to find another way to amuse himself before he went to bed. And since he had already finished all of his homework and didn't feel like studying, he took out his sketchbook.

Jared began to do a more detailed drawing of a raven just as Ron had described to him. No one really knew where Jared had inherited his artistic inclinations. The Grangers and Weasleys dealt in words and numbers quite well. However, very few of them were artists. Actually, none of them were artists. Jared was a very good drawer and was quite gifted. He thought of becoming an artist when he was older. It was the only career that he thought a lot of.

He wasn't discouraged by his grandparents on his mother's side, but on his father's side, they exhibited some discomfort at his artistic abilities. Jared was the one Weasley who knew how to play different musical instruments as well. His mother spent a good amount of her time nurturing these gifts. However, the Weasleys were a little fazed by his drawing more than anything else.

Perhaps, it had something to do one summer when he was around eight or nine and he wandered into a room that wasn't used by anyone. It was the room that faced the backyard on the third floor of the Burrow. It was strange that no one ever used that room. It had belonged to Jared's uncle, Percy, and it was left as it was the day he had walked out on the family. It became a sort of shrine after he had died. It was there that Jared felt the most comfortable because there wasn't anyone going in there to bother him, and sometimes he couldn't stand all the activity because he was an only child after all. Jared would go up into his uncle's room for a couple of minutes at a time. It was there that he had found his uncle's old school books and things along with a notebook that had drawings in it.

His grandmother was very upset to find him in that room that summer. Molly calmed down after Jared expressed how little he understood. He had never heard of his uncle much and had only seen a few pictures of him. His grandmother explained that the room was just as Percy had left it and that she and his grandfather just couldn't change it. Jared asked about some of the pictures. One of the pictures in particular almost made Molly cry. It was a portrait of a girl who had curly hair and it was dated sometime in Percy's last year in Hogwarts. She didn't say who it was, but said it was someone who was very special to Percy.

After that talk, Molly escorted Jared out of the room, but didn't make him promise never to go there again. When he had gone home, he drew a picture of his uncle and the following day he put the picture back in the room without telling anyone. He had drawn it from memory.

Jared finished drawing the picture of the raven. He had thought about how Magus looked. The picture that was in the file was of Magus when he was taken to Azkaban. It was vastly different than what he would look these days. In truth, Jared was afraid of falling asleep. He didn't want to relive that again. His mind had buried for years and now he could remember it better. However, in his vision, he managed to block most of it. It was the face that was the problem.

There was no doubt in his mind that Magus changed his appearance, but he wasn't a Metamorphmagus. Magus was a clever man who employed everything in his disposal to cover up his crimes. He would kill other wizards and assume their identities by making Polyjuice Potions. He killed Muggles and left their bodies at the steps of the Ministry, but he was always gone before anyone could get to him. By the time, Jared was born the Ministry had all kinds of security measures that including wider areas where barriers prevented Apparation/Disapparation. It made sense that Magus was an Animagus because the Ministry foolishly thought that people would register themselves.

Jared sighed as he closed his sketchbook and left it on the table. He was going to have to go to sleep. He didn't get up to go to bed. He had to sleep so that he could dream. So that he could see the face of his father's enemy.

* * *

AN: Jared does hold the key and he knows how Magus really looks like, but is he really safe? That's a good question because he's by himself in Gryffindor. I did have to throw in some humor to balance things out. Poor Ron and Hermione. They are really stumbling along and the cool thing with a time travel story is that I can plan for any plot loop holes.

kirikarin. I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.


	25. Christmas Morning

Temporal Flux

Chapter Twenty-Five: Christmas Morning

Ron couldn't sleep. He was too anxious to do so as he lay awake. Sometimes Harry fretted a bit when he slept. Ron was a little used to it. However, Harry seemed to be sleeping peacefully for a change of pace. Ron had no idea that he was going to end up with a child very much like Harry.

There was no denying that Jared was special. Of course, Ron was his father, and like every proud parent, he thought his child was something special. It was more than that. There was something very special about Jared, but Ron didn't quite get it. He doubted that his future self understood it any better than his younger self. It seemed fairly obvious that Jared was going to grow up to be some extraordinary person.

Ron didn't have much money, but he did pick up something for Hermione, Harry, and Jared. He had meant to give Hermione's present a bit earlier but with the interruption of the raven that was not possible. He had picked her up a simple necklace that had a small pendant on it. It wasn't anything all that expensive or special just a bit of crystal actually. Ron couldn't afford to get Hermione's birth stone anyway.

Jared was a little hard to shop for, but he expressed that he did like to read a lot. Ron picked up a book at Flourish and Blotts. It was novel written by a wizard. For Harry, Ron got him another book about spells against the dark arts to add to Harry's ever growing collection. It seemed only right considering what Harry was going to become in the future. The book was an advance one that a former Auror had written.

Ron was very restless and couldn't sleep very well at all, so he got up and ventured downstairs. He was stared at the fireplace for a long period of time, wondering if Jared would call. When that didn't happen within the first ten minutes, he got up to pace around back and forth. In the silence of the night, he was starting to think about how Magus wanted him dead because of what he would do. Ron's jaw clenched as he sped up his pacing. There was no way he was going to let someone like Magus get away with what he was doing. He was going to stop him one way or another.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Ron's father's voice interrupted. Arthur was at the bottom of the staircase looking at Ron with a bit of a wry smile.

"Can you believe it, Dad? I haven't even had him and I'm already pacing and worrying," moaned Ron as he plopped down on the chair in front of the fireplace. "You'd think he'd call or something. Doesn't he know, I'm sitting here?"

Arthur chuckled at Ron as he took a seat next to him. "You sound like your mother," he observed.

"He's like his mother. He doesn't like to listen to me," said Ron gruffly. "I told him back where he came from not to do this, and he went and did it anyway. I'm thinking of leaving myself a note to punish him when he gets back. I'll just seal it in an envelope and open it after he gets back."

"You must admit that his intentions are good," pointed out Arthur. "He's a good lad. He's like you."

Ron exclaimed as he threw his arms into the air, "Why does everyone keep saying that? Even Hermione, and she's got no idea who he really is. She said that even before I found out."

Arthur shook his head and chucked again, "It's sort of gratifying to see you so anxious."

"Were any of us like this?" asked Ron.

"Last year, when you and your sister went to the Department of Mysteries," answered Arthur promptly. "Your mother had a fit. And I swore that if you were both all right, I would kill you both anyway for making us worry so much. I think that wishing children just like you and having it actually happen is satisfying enough."

Ron shook his head, "Well, there's only one thing left for me to do then." He got to his feet and smiled at his father, "Good night."

"What's the last thing, Ron?" asked Arthur.

"I'm just going to wish the same thing on Jared," replied Ron as he grinned and climbed up the stairs to go to bed. All Arthur could really do was shake his head because the cycle was continuing.

The following morning, Jared got up early because it was too quiet sleeping in a room that was normally occupied by more than one person at almost any given time. It was the silence that roused him and this was also the first holiday that he ever spent separated from his family. His mother and father always had him home every winter. He couldn't remember one Christmas and that was the one when he was attacked. He now understood why none of his friends or family really talked about it. It was because he had blocked it out of his memory and they didn't think it was a good idea for him to bring it up until he was ready.

Jared got up and proceeded to the bathroom as he washed his face. He stared at the scar along his neck. He remembered how protective Harry had been up till his third year. His parents did let him go to Hogsmeade, but Harry always seemed to pop up at the same places that Jared was in. They had spent a lot of time keeping him alive and untroubled. Harry made it his mission not only to keep Jared alive, but ensure him as normal a childhood as possible.

Harry didn't have a normal childhood. By the time he would become a professor in Hogwarts, he had spent more than half his life just trying to stay alive. There came a time that Harry realized that he was never going to be normal and to accept that he would always be different. Deep down , Jared knew that Harry envied Ron for having all the things that he had longed for. Jared was practically Harry's first child, even though Harry would eventually get married and have children of his own.

He finished up and ventured downstairs to the common room. The fire was there because the house elves kept it up during the night. He opened the brown parcel that Molly had given him and found the customary Weasley sweater. It was maroon just as he had expected. Jared shrugged and put it on. He was starting to feel less lonely and warmer. Who knew that a Weasley sweater had that much power?

The fire roared again. Jared nearly jumped because he could see Ron's head in the fireplace. "Gah!" he exclaimed. "You almost gave me a bloody heart attack!"

"Not so loud," warned Ron. "Hermione might be up any minute. I was just wondering how you were doing. You didn't call last night."

"I was under the impression that I wasn't suppose to," said Jared as he crouched down closer to the fire. "I'm fine. So, how do I look?" He was referring to the sweater.

"Do you actually like maroon?"

"Not really, but she likes knitting them for me, so I don't mind. It makes her happy to see me appreciate it." Ron was wearing a sweater that wasn't very different from Jared's. In fact, they were identical. Jared was just a good kid who really didn't seek to hurt anyone's feelings. "And it feels like having a slice of home."

"Happy Christmas, Jared. Stay safe," said Ron.

"Happy Christmas," said Jared. He didn't add the last part until after Ron was gone. "Dad." It was time to go and get some breakfast. He put on some shoes and went down to the Great Hall.

Professor De Luca greeted him with a smile, "Happy Christmas, Jared."

"Happy Christmas, Professor."

Professor Snape was watching Jared carefully. He must have been appraised of the situation as he walked up to Jared. "So, you're their son?" he asked.

"Yes, Professor Snape," answered Jared plainly. Unlike Ron, he bore no ill will towards Professor Snape. In fact, he seemed to have a certain amount of respect towards him. "I knew that you would be here for the holidays as well, but I didn't expect Professor De Luca to be here."

"I chose to stay rather than return to my order during the holidays," said Professor De Luca.

Jared joined some of the other students who were sticking around. It seemed like he was the only one remaining from Gryffindor. There were three from Ravenclaw, two from Hufflepuff, and to Jared's utter surprise Malfoy had remained with Crabbe and Goyle.

"So, you're here? Blake? I thought you left with Weasley and Potter," said Malfoy. "Let me guess: they didn't want you either."

"I was wanted, but it was overwhelming," said Jared. "What are you doing here? I thought a spoiled boy like you would be home with his parents."

"My father is in Azkaban," Malfoy informed him. "Thanks to Potter and his little friends."

"Oh, I forgot that." Jared added quite genuinely, "Sorry about that."

Malfoy snapped, "I don't need your pity, Blake." He seemed utterly frustrated so he stalked off so suddenly that it too longer than normal for it to register with Crabbe and Goyle to go after him. Jared almost felt bad for Malfoy. It was hard for him to understand how that bitter boy could turn into one of the best teachers in Hogwarts, but that was almost twenty years from that point. Jared marveled at the idea that someone could change so drastically over that time.

He ended up sitting with the two Hufflepuffs because they were the friendliest of the others. He didn't really talk that much to anyone in particular. Professor McGonagall was probably told what was going on based on the way she looked at him when he walked in.

After breakfast, Jared decided to take a walk out to Hagrid's cabin and see if the groundskeeper was in, but he interrupted by Professor De Luca. "Do you really think it's wise to go outside?" he asked with a tone that told Jared it wasn't.

"It's boring in here," said Jared mildly.

"Yes, you seem to be the type who prefers a lot of excitement," agreed the DADA professor. "You are a bit of a handful for your parents."

"My parents are used to it," said Jared. "Although, my father always says that my body isn't mine until I'm of age, so it's up to him to keep me in one piece. Whatever that means. Do you ever wish that you could have a wife and kids of your own?"

"Not really," said Professor De Luca. "There is a lot of evil in the world. And from the looks of it, there is more in the future as well. I have devoted myself to this life. To rid the world of evil and to keep others safe. I am never really lonely in my fight or in my life. It is very gratifying existence. One doesn't need to have his or her own children in order to feel that they have contributed something to society, Jared."

Jared nodded as he found himself walking with Professor De Luca. "I think you're the one who baptized me," he said thoughtful. "I don't remember, but I was raised Catholic. My father's family have been Catholic for generations and my mom never converted, but her family hardly practices whatever they're supposed to be. My maternal grandparents are too scientific to take things on blind faith."

Professor De Luca chuckled. "That's really what blind faith is about. I suppose they believe in magic because they've seen it. Or at least a small part of it. But it didn't stop with the generation before you?"

"I was a handful compared to her. They really weren't ready for me. My nana always said that I had more energy and could cause more trouble than my mother ever could," admitted Jared. "I was disruptive at their house. You know Muggle things are surprisingly delicate to magic. I once shorted out their DVD player because my papa wouldn't let me watch something on it." Jared glanced at Professor De Luca who had a mystified look. Obviously, he didn't know what a DVD player was. Jared smiled as he continued, "I was okay to be baby sat until I hit two years old after that my mum or dad had to be there otherwise they couldn't handle me. It's not simple to tell a child wizard that magic is a no-no and try to explain it using the laws of adults. It wasn't until I was eight when I was old enough to not use to my magic when I was upset."

"There is a theory that is running in some circles," said Professor De Luca. "The pureblood families like the Malfoys and others like them are truly afraid of people from Muggle lines just suddenly having magic. However, some believe that a hybrid child will function best between both worlds."

"The racism is more rampant, I'm afraid," pointed out Jared. "There are more and more children like me and Harry. He was always the one who could talk to me about being a half-blood. My parents have their arguments over how to raise me. It's either too much magic will prompt laziness or it's part of my heritage I should use it. Usually, they try to reach some kind of compromise."

"The world only gets more complicated as the time marches on," concluded Professor De Luca.

Hermione was having a hard time trying to figure out what was going on with Ron. He was withdrawn. He and Harry had their heads together discussing something or someone. Hermione was also getting strange looks from Ron's brothers, who were being very nice to her for some strange reason. Perhaps, Jared did have the right idea of leaving.

She had to get away from Ginny for a little bit because she was making her feel rather uncomfortable. She crept downstairs early in the morning to put some more presents at the tree. She put Ron's gift next to Harry's. She had bought a nice scarf for Ginny. She would have made them herself, but she couldn't knit very well.

Hermione was concentrating so hard at that moment that she hadn't heard Ron come down the stairs. "Happy Christmas, Hermione," he said softly. She whirled in surprise. He pulled back with his hands in front of him. "Sorry, didn't mean to surprise you."

"You've been doing that a lot lately," murmured Hermione. She was unable to look him in the eye. At least when they were alone, and right now they were very much alone. She added hastily, "Oh, Happy Christmas to you, too, Ron."

"Yeah," sighed Ron as he looked away from her. His ears were bright red. He was lucky that his whole wasn't as red as it was last night. "I got you something. It's not much really."

"It's all right. At least you got me here," said Hermione softly as she accepted Ron's gift. She opened it and found a pair of combs for her hair. "These are beautiful." She smiled up at him, but he wasn't look at her.

Ron was having some difficult getting over his shyness. "I'm glad you like them. I got them at Diagon Alley. The lady said that if you lose one, you can get them both to glow to find the other pair. Just in case. I don't think you'll ever lose them," he said with a grin. "So, what'd you get me?"

Hermione laughed as she put one of her hands on her hip and said, "Why don't you go and look for it yourself?"

Ron started searching for his present. He was going to have to pretend that he was surprised at the gift. He already knew what it was and that it was going to fit him just fine. He picked it up and carried it to the sofa. He sat down with the box and to his surprise, Hermione took a seat next him. Ron tore off the wrapper and opened the box. He stared at it for a moment. "What is it?" he asked.

"It's a jacket, Ron," said Hermione. "I didn't want to get you just anything, but I thought that you'd like something from the Muggle world."

Ron pulled it out of the box and put it on. It was a little long, but it fitted just fine on the shoulders. He wasn't overly surprised, but he did like the feel of it. "This is nice, Hermione." He stood up.

"I was worried that it wouldn't fit," said Hermione as she stood up with him. "You look great."

"How did you know it would fit?" asked Ron as he finally looked her in the eye. He saw that she had tipped her chin upwards. She was at a disadvantage because she didn't have her heels on any longer, so she was much shorter than last night. "About last night," he started as he cleared his throat, "forget what happened, all right? I didn't really mean anything by it."

Hermione's expression changed from smiling to mystified to angry in less than thirty seconds. "What's that suppose to mean, Ron?" she demanded. "I can't figure you out these days. What's wrong with you?"

"There's nothing wrong with me," answered Ron. "Nothing at all. If anything, there's something wrong with you."

"Me? I wasn't the one who showed up suddenly and just took me away. You know what's going on and you won't tell me anything. And what's worst is that you trust someone you barely know over me. We've been friends for six years. You've only known Jared for less than six months. And then, you kissed me and act like it was nothing!"

"What difference did that really make?" shouted back Ron. He didn't mean to lose his temper so easily, but he wasn't about to back down from a fight. "You said that you wanted me to get along with Jared and now you're mad because I am. I can't believe you. Everything I do is wrong. No one can do everything as well or as right as little Miss Perfect. I don't even get what you're complaining about now?"

"The fact that you told me to forget about last night, Ron," said Hermione. Her feelings were hurt and that would have been obvious to almost anyone, but Ron was missing it all together. "You won't even have a civilized conversation about it."

"What do you want me to say? This is just getting stupid," he declared. "I don't want to continue this any longer. Come on, just tell me what you want me to say."

"I want you to stop dancing around things, Ron. I want direct answers to my questions," said Hermione. "I want you tell me what you've been hiding this entire time. There's more going on around here than you're telling me. Everyone knows something and I think it's you who's keeping everyone from saying something. Even your parents seem to know what's going on."

Ron looked at her plainly for a moment. "You really are too smart for your own good." He looked at her musingly. "And has it really been just six years? It seems like less. But at the same time, it's like we've known each other our whole lives. So, you want me to tell you the truth? Which truth are you talking about?"

"Why did you kiss me? You brought it up first."

"We're back to where we started. I thought you were asking about why I took you away from your grandmother's house. Do you want me to answer that question?"

"No, I want you to answer why you kissed me, Ron."

Ron shrugged off his new jacket and folded it before he put it down. "If you have to ask that question, Hermione, then you don't get it," he said simply. "I'm not going to explain it to you. I know that I'm no where near the type of bloke who should be kissing a girl like you in the first place."

"I didn't know we were categorized as types, Ron. For one thing, in the world that we're in, I can be the smartest witch in the world, and your opinion would still matter more than mine because of who you are," said Hermione as she crossed her arms over her chest, but she was thinking of what he was saying. She took his hand. "Sit back down, Ron. My neck is hurting looking up at you."

"I saw your grandmother's house," said Ron. "It's huge and your parents aren't bad off either. This jacket looks like it cost a fortune. I haven't got anything else to go with it. This is second major piece of clothing I have that's mine to start with. And all I got you were those combs."

"Do you ever notice how I smell, Ron?" asked Hermione. He wondered about that from time to time as he sat closer to her, and he shook his head. He never thought she smelt bad. She shook her head and laughed. "You're so forgetful sometimes. Honestly. I wear the perfume you gave me last year for Christmas. Don't you remember?" Ron noticed that she hadn't let go of his hand yet. It was just so natural to feel her hand against his. She went on, "I'm sorry that I kept asking just now."

Ron didn't know what to say at that point. He was thinking of how nice it was to sit with her. He couldn't help but think of how much he really knew. Even with Jared around, he could never consider himself as that lucky.

Now it was his turn to be surprised, Hermione leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips. He deepen the kiss and she responded in kind. She slowly pulled back with a smile on her lips. He grinned back at her. It really the best Christmas Ron had thus far, and what made it even better was knowing even better ones were coming later on.

* * *

AN: The dialogue is particularly aggravating to read as it was to write between Hermione and Ron in this. I wanted to write an adult argument. Doesn't the end make you feel all warm and squishy? Poor Jared. Things aren't going to get any easier for him. 

Confession: I am official done writing Temporal Flux. It has been finished for the past couple of chapters. If anyone kept up with my journal, they would know that. At the end of the last chapter (which isn't the chapter after this), I will put up a preview for the next story. No, I don't want people making demands of me updating immediately because I'll do it when I feel like it. Anyone attempting will to do will be ignored. It's imperative that I post both stories before July 16th because that's the due date that I set up for myself.

kirikarin. livejournal. com

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.


	26. The Case File

Temporal Flux

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Case File

Jared was tossing and turning again in his sleep. He woke up with a start and in a cold sweat. He was heaving for air as he got out of bed. He gazed out the window and saw very clearly that the Raven was just sitting out on a limb watching him. "Nevermore," he whispered as he stared at it. He could feel his neck tingling a bit. He ran his finger down the side of his neck, and then covered the scar with his palm.

It was at that moment he wished he was back at his own time. All he would have to do was go down to his godfather's office and he would be there. Jared had his problems starting out in Hogwarts and it was Harry who kept him out of it. Some of the other kids thought it was nepotism at work, and it was. He didn't know until now that Harry was keeping an eye on him to keep him safe at his father's request.

Jared wished that he was more aware after that attack that put him in St. Mungo's. He still didn't know how his father succeeded in capturing Magus. And now the Raven was watching him. It was going to be difficult to send messages via owl, but that was why Professor De Luca recommended that no messages be sent that way anyway. Jared marched up to the curtain and drew them closed.

Jared went to his trunk and dug around until he found what he was looking for. It was his copy of _The Little Prince_. His mother used to read it to him all the time when he was younger and it was one of her favorite books as well. It was the first book the he ever read by himself. Jared settled back in bed, reading the book until he fell asleep.

The rest of Christmas day was a mixture of satisfaction and embarrassment for Ron. After the morning kiss with Hermione, he had to keep a straight face around his brothers, but it seemed that Bill and Charlie had a talk with Fred and George. Hermione found herself at the end of some very nice treatment from Molly.

"Hermione stopped asking about Jared. How did you get her to stop?" asked Harry.

Ron shrugged. "She just decided to stop asking on her own." Like he was going to tell Harry about how she got her to stop. "I talked to Jared earlier. He seems fine, but I don't know if he's still safe."

"Yeah," agreed Harry. "We know that there ways of getting into the castle that is discreet. But getting to Jared isn't going to get him what he wants, which is you."

"I wish there was some way of me to get a message to myself," said Ron. "If only had I had taken the time to give Jared some kind of plan."

"Now, there's a thought," said Harry. "There's a way for you to get a message back to yourself. Assuming that what's happening right now is affecting the future timeline. The theory of Temporal Flux. Jared mentioned it. Maybe there is a way for you to send yourself a message. One that you would receive sometime later on."

"Yes, but how would I do it?" asked Ron out loud as he paced back and forth. He stopped in front of his trunk. "Jared has the same trunk. Just older." He got down on his knees and opened it. He pulled out a roll of parchment paper along with a quill and some ink. He emptied out the rest of the contents and put it all on the bed, then pulled out the panel. "Normally, I keep my extra pocket money in here along with some sweets. Jared used it to hide Hermione's diary along with the photograph. Harry, watch the door, tell me if anyone is coming."

Completely understanding what Ron was about to do, Harry went to the door without hesitation and closed it. Ron began to write a letter to himself. He didn't want to delay anything, so he wrote as quickly as possible giving himself instructions about what to do in the event of Jared leaving. Somehow, Ron was going to have to get himself to put a plan of action or at least the case file of Magus into the trunk.

"Okay, this is confusing. I have to put this letter in the hidden bottom of this trunk," said Ron out loud. "Then, assuming that I trust myself enough, I have to get the case file to Jared back in the trunk as well. I don't even know where this trunk will be. I don't even know if Jared uses it the whole time he's attending Hogwarts or just for this."

"We'll just have to take that chance, Ron," said Harry. "Are you done?"

"Yes," answered Ron as he put sealed the letter without any wax because there wasn't enough time. He put it on the bottom of his trunk. "All I have to do is keep the letter here." He piled his things back inside. "I hope that I get it back."

"There's one way to find out fast. Jared would have to open the trunk and check," said Harry. "We can't send a message via owl. Not if Magus assumes his Animagi form. He'll intercept any messages."

"But he didn't put the diary back in the bottom, did he?" asked Ron. "Where is the diary?"

"I think that Ginny has it and she's sharing a room with Hermione," answered Harry. "Why?"

"I need it," answered Ron. He thought about it for a moment. "Okay, I'll distract this time. You go to Ginny and get the diary. Put it in your trunk."

"All right," agreed Harry. "This works out better. You're better at distracting Hermione than I am anyway." He grinned from ear to ear. Ron shook his head as he closed his trunk. They walked out of the room, looking for them as soon as soon as they came downstairs they saw that the girls were downstairs helping Molly with something.

"Mum, we need to get some help on the winter homework assignments," announced Ron.

Molly gave him a mystified look and asked, "Didn't you say that you finished those already?"

"We need someone to double check it," answered Ron. "Hermione always does it for us."

"This is my winter vacation from school and you expect me to help you out with your school work?" asked Hermione.

Ron and Harry replied in unison, "Yes."

Hermione opened her mouth and closed it again. "I always have to help you guys out with school work when we're not in school. When we're in school, you don't want to listen to me. I'm not helping you." She folded her arms over her chest.

"Fine," agreed Ron. "If you want us to fail, that's fine. We didn't need you anyway."

Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed as she handed back the cloth she was using to wipe down the dinner table. "Fine, I'll help you. The last thing I want is you to blame me for it. I'm sorry, Mrs. Weasley."

"It's all right," said Molly as she walked off with Ron. Harry lingered behind and waited for Molly to go back to work at the stove. He really had to hand it Ron because he really knew Hermione better than anyone would have thought.

"Ginny, mind giving us back what Jared gave you?" asked Harry in a low voice. Ginny nodded and said to her mother, "Mum, I'll be back. I'll have to go and give Harry back something of Jared's." He gave her a sharp look.

"All right, Ginny," said Molly as they walked off.

As soon as they were going up the stairs, Harry asked, "Why'd you just tell her the truth?"

"Because there's a lot of lying going on around here anyway," answered Ginny. "I'm starting to fail to see why we have to continue lying like this. My mother already knows what's going on. She's been practically gushing at Jared since she found out who he is. Suddenly, she's paying more attention to Ron than she normally does and that's way more than what he's used to. It's funny because Ron would rather be left alone, but she's been giving him a lot of parenting advice while you were with our brothers." She paused and then added, "And another thing, the best thing about a good lie is one closest to the truth. The further you get from the truth, the harder it is to keep it up and make it believable."

"Good point," agreed Harry begrudgingly. "You know I think I like it better when you were too shy to speak to me directly."

"Those days are long gone, Harry," said Ginny as they stopped in front of the girls' room. "You can wait out here. I'll bring it to you."

Harry tapped his foot impatiently as he waited. Ginny came back with the diary, wrapped in parchment. "You can have it back because I can't read it while she's here anyway. And I feel kind of bad for having it and sharing the same room with her."

"Right," said Harry, feeling some of the guilt. "I have to go and drop it off in my room. You can go back to your mother now."

"All right," said Ginny as she went off.

Harry shook his head and wondered about how little he really knew about Ginny. Not that he really cared, but she had a cunning nature about her that Harry had only really seen in Fred and George. When he got to the room, he put the diary in his trunk and grabbed his assignments. He came back down to the living room.

"Where were you, Harry?" asked Hermione. "We turned around and you were gone."

"Mrs. Weasley talked to me for a bit," answered Harry. "And I had to find my assignments."

"I was just asking Hermione if we could just check her homework against ours. She said no."

"Ron, Hermione's homework is at her parents' house."

"That's what I've been trying to tell him, Harry," said Hermione as she shook her head at Ron. "He thinks that I memorize my homework. Why didn't you ask Jared while he was here? He probably finished the assignments before he even came here. And knowing him, he would have memorized it, too. Let me guess, he wouldn't help you."

Ron raised his eyebrow and cleared his throat. "Well, he never helps anyone. We didn't expect him to help us."

"He has the right idea. It's my fault for helping you both in the first place," said Hermione.

Harry started laughing. Hermione glared at him. "You know that you're going to help us in the end," he told her. "You always do. Hermione, did you get in contact with your parents yet?"

"I got a letter from my dad. Thanks for letting me use Hedwig. My mum's really mad and so is my grandmother. He'll try to smooth things over, but he said that it will take a while to pull off." Hermione glanced at both of them. "It will be hard to do because my dad still doesn't know why I left so suddenly. I can't explain it either because neither of you will tell me anything."

"Don't worry about it, Hermione," said Ron soothingly.

"You were the one who freaked out when you saw that raven," pointed out Hermione. "And what about Jared? He collapsed near that pond. I don't think he should have left and you made him leave, Ron."

"How do you know that I made him do anything?" asked Ron. He asked Harry, "When has he ever actually listened to me?"

Harry shrugged, "Why would he listen to you?"

Hermione glanced back and forth between the two of them and sighed. "Fine. Have it your way. You know for all the times that I have been there for you two; you'd think that you'd trust me with some big secret. Ron, I'm always there for you when you complain about pointless things. Harry, I'm there when you feel like the rest of the world doesn't understand you. Did either of you think that I might need something from both you just once?"

"Did it occur to you that what we might be doing is for you?" asked Ron as he looked her straight in the eye. Suddenly, Harry felt like he didn't really belong in the room. He just sat there are Ron continued, "And stop thinking of Jared so much. He's not here, so he's not part of the problem. It's between the three of us. And Harry, don't leave the room. Now, would you mind helping us with the assignments?"

Hermione reluctantly went back to helping them, but both of them knew that she wasn't letting this go. She was going to keep at it until they broke. However, they went right to work and it seemed that things would stand still for a bit.

Magus sat at the top of the tree branch. He knew that the Mudblood pup was back in Hogwarts and that they were actually careful about him leaving the castle. However, he had tangled with the boy before and knew that the child's naturally inquisitive nature would get the better of him soon enough. Yes, Magus still regarded Jared as a mere child, yet he didn't deem Ron Weasley that way.

As smart as Jared was, he was still a child and didn't have his father's remarkable skills when it came to wizardry and he had his mother's intelligence. The child was not to be underestimated, but Magus had cut the boy's neck before and nearly slit his throat in the process. The scar was inflicted with a metal that afflicted the blood itself. It was the Muggle blood kept the child alive.

Ron had to stay alive. Magus wanted him to live long enough to feel the pain and the loss of his family. The mistake was separating them and sending Jared away. Magus needed him for bait. And he was going to make sure he would get to the boy. It was only a matter of time. Jared was cut off from his family now.

The one person that Magus underestimated was Ron. He had no idea that Ron had come up with a plan that was going to derail Magus'. The case file was waiting in the trunk in the false bottom. That was going to be the key to end it.

Professor De Luca received a message through his fireplace. He got to his feet and read it. With that, he went up to Gryffindor Tower. He knew the password to get inside and walked up to the boys' dorm. He found Jared fast asleep. "Jared," he said as gently as he could.

"Professor De Luca? What time is it?" asked Jared.

"It's still early. It's only eight. Why are you sleeping right now?" asked Professor De Luca.

"I was feeling tired," whispered Jared. "Why are you here?"

"To check your trunk."

Jared got up and went to his trunk and opened it. "What are you looking for?"

"Your father sent a message. It was the only chance he had. Check the bottom. That's what he wrote."

Jared pulled all his things out and felt for the false bottom. "I put things in there already. Why would there be anything else? I would have noticed if there was." His eyes widened as he pulled out a thick manila envelope. "Okay, this wasn't here before."

"One of time travel's confusing things, isn't it?" asked Professor De Luca.

"Yeah, I'm starting to get a headache from all of this," answered Jared. He opened the envelope. "I don't believe this. It's the case file. He actually sent the case file." It was a lot thicker than Jared thought it would be. The file was organized chronologically. Some of it was typed using an old0-fashion typewriter, some in using a Quick Quill, and other part were handwritten by Ron's hand. Jared felt sick to his stomach when he saw one of the crime photos of one of the victims. For a split second, he thought it was a doll, but it was a little girl. He quickly put the whole contents back into the envelope.

"Do you mind if I take a look?" asked Professor De Luca. "Let's take it to Professor Dumbledore's office."

Jared nodded, but he refused to hand it over to him. "I'm not giving it to you right now. It was meant for me. The only other hands it will go back to are Ron's." The DADA professor nodded obligingly and stepped outside the dorm room. Jared changed quickly and met him out in the common room.

They made their way to the Headmaster's office and saw that Professor Dumbledore was waiting for them. Jared took a seat so did Professor De Luca. "I have the case file," said Jared. "Shouldn't we wait until they get back?"

"I think it would be more prudent for us to take a look at this now," said Professor Dumbledore. Jared handed him the envelope. "This is heavy," observed the Headmaster as he opened it and started to leaf through the contents. "Your father spent a good three years hunting this man down."

"It started the year I started here," confirmed Jared. "My godfather might have taken the position as the new DADA professor to keep a closer eye on me now that I think of it. I remember one night on my first week here. I was so homesick, but at the same time horribly intimidated. My parents are tough acts to follow. Everyone was expecting greatness out of me immediately. I went into one of the halls to look at some of the trophies. Imagine seeing your father's name on a Quidditch plaque and thinking you had to match it. Uncle Harry found me. At first, I thought I was in big trouble because he was mad at me for wandering around in the dead of night, but then he mellowed out so suddenly. It was relief. Relief that nothing happened to me."

"It started prior to your start at Hogwarts," Professor Dumbledore corrected. "Magus had sent pictures of you and your mother outside your house in London. He knew where you two were at all times. He sent pictures of you and your mother to remind your father."

"Oh," said Jared as he visibly paled.

"This case consumed your father for three years." Professor Dumbledore looked up at Jared and looked closely at him. "You were the last victim according to this case file." He picked up a photograph that was taken two years ago in Jared's time and handed it him. "That was the final straw. Here's an account of how your father captured Magus."

Jared took the photo in his hand. It was him. It had been taken at the hospital. It must have been taken right after the attack. His lips were blue, while the rest of his skin was pale. He had bruising around his neck on one side, while the cut was on the other. He flipped it over and saw that his father had written, "Jared Ronald Weasley, 13. Survivor." Jared noticed that the first writing was handwritten, while the last word was printed out in capital letters. "I'm part of the case file," whispered Jared.

"The second to last part," said Professor Dumbledore. "Your father hunted him down to an old abbey and finished him off in a graveyard. Your father almost killed him, but brought him in. The case file concludes with the court proceedings and the outcome. Magus was sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban. The only reason why he was kept alive was because he never revealed where all the bodies were buried."

"He should have killed him when he had the bloody chance," said Jared softly. His natural accent came out and he sounded close to tears. He seemed to tremble. "I forgot about it. I didn't want to remember it."

"The blade that he used was coated in poison. A poison that would have killed a pureblood almost instantly, but lucky for you the cold water slowed the toxin as well as your Muggle blood. You had to undergo a full transfusion. Your blood was filtered out of your body and the toxin was taken out. Magus had a dagger that he attempted to kill your father with, but your father used it and stabbed him instead. It ended up not killing him, which means that Magus is probably a half-blood as well. That was how he was able to stop him."

"I don't understand," said Jared as his anger surged. "How could he go around killing Muggles and thinking that any Muggle born witch or wizard or half-blood inferior, when he's one, too? Who's he to decide who deserves to live or die? Look at my neck! This is permanent. If my parents could have gotten rid of it, they would have. It twitches from time to time."

"Hate is hardly ever logical. As for the twitch that's probably the toxin. You're suffering from some kind of relapse from it," said Professor Dumbledore.

Professor De Luca asked, "Did you ever have to take extra potions here and there, Jared?"

Jared nodded, "Yes. I had to go to Madame Pomfrey's everyday for the past two years to get some kind of potion. I tried to ask at first why and what it was, but my godfather said that it was because of the accident. What happened to me wasn't an accident. I can't believe this. They lied to me! My parents! My godfather! Even my best friends lied to me!" His voice echoed in the office. He was getting paler and paler.

"Did you stop taking that potion recently?" asked Professor De Luca.

"Eventually, I didn't have to go to the infirmary anymore to take it. I was given the potion to take on my own. But I didn't pack it when I was coming here. I left it back in my room in my parents' house. I've been fine for months now. But I must have started to relapse again."

"That's not in the file," said Professor Dumbledore. He got to his feet. "Take this all of this back and go to Madame Pomfrey's. I want you to give her a blood sample and tell her to give the results to me. I would say to forward it to your parents, but that wouldn't be a good idea."

"Thank you, Professor," said Jared as he got to his feet and walked out of the office. When the door closed, Professor De Luca asked, "Do you suppose he'll be telling his father about this?"

"Probably not," answered Professor Dumbledore.

* * *

AN: Jared is having some problems here. He hasn't really gotten fully cured from the poison and like most teenagers he thinks he's invisible. He's also pretty mad at his parents and Harry at this point. He didn't really tell Ron that he was mad about that, but this will probably keep him from telling Ron about the possible relapse.

Kirikarin . livejournal . com (take out the spaces)

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.


	27. Time's Up

Temporal Flux

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Time's Up

Things were worse off than Jared would have predicted. Madame Pomfrey was so alarmed after she had finished doing an analysis of his blood that she was insistent that Jared stay until classes started up again. Jared reluctantly agreed. Professor De Luca just sent back a message that the case file had arrived.

Madame Pomfrey sent the results back to Professor Dumbledore, while Professor McGonagall dropped by to see to Jared. She must have been told about the situation because she kind enough not to ask any questions. She merely told him that if things got too much for him that he had an excuse not to go to class and that she would cover for him. That only served to make Jared more anxious because it seemed so much more serious.

Jared got well enough to get out of the infirmary and return to the dorms. Apparently, the kind of blood poisoning he had hadn't occurred to anyone else yet. What he didn't know was that Snape and Dumbledore were looking further into it. Jared was given nothing in the meantime. He was able to get enough rest and felt safer in the infirmary than he did in the dorms alone. Madame Pomfrey kept him far from a window at his request and sealed off that corner with the curtain.

He had heard Malfoy come in with some kind of injury from practicing Quidditch, but other than that nothing else. When he was released back to the dorms, he checked his assignments again and waited for everyone else to come back. During this time, he had time to think about what Ron had said about keeping himself. It just made Jared angrier when he thought about it.

The first creature to greet him when they had returned was Crookshanks who immediately came up to Jared and rubbed against his legs. "Hey, Crookshanks. It's been a while since I've seen you," he whispered. He resisted the urge to pick up Crookshanks. "It's good to see all of you. I hope you enjoyed the rest of your holiday." It almost came out mechanical.

"Happy New Year, Jared," greeted Hermione as she walked up to him. She immediately noticed that something was wrong with him. No one could ever accuse Hermione's maternal instincts. "You look kind of pale. Are you all right?"

"I've been staying up late," answered Jared. He couldn't really stay mad at her. "So, how did the rest of your holiday go?"

"Nothing much," answered Ron.

Harry added, "We finished the assignments. No thanks to you, but Hermione saved us."

Jared smirked. "Of course. What about you, Ginny?"

"Things got a little boring after you left," she admitted. She looked at him a little more closely. "Hermione's right. You do look a bit peaky. Are you sure you're all right?"

Jared nodded as he picked up Crookshanks. Hermione didn't even try to stop him as he continued to pay more attention to the feline than to anyone else. He settled on the sofa with Crookshanks on his lap. "I was five when my family's pet died. I was so upset about it. My dad offered to get me another cat, but I said that it wouldn't be the same. Things didn't improve until he brought home a little African Gray hatchling that was found in an illegal animal raid. I was ten. It was just a baby, too. My dad found a way for me to keep him. He's my familiar, which is just right for a wizard. Those things live for like a hundred years easy."

"What's his name?" asked Ginny.

"Paolo," answered Jared. "I hope that my parents are looking after him."

"I'm sure they are," said Ron. He, too, was noticing that Jared didn't look any better than he did before.

Hermione watched silently. She looked more closely at the way that Jared held on to Crookshanks. He seemed to know exactly how to hold him. Hermione looked closely at Jared's hands, his fingers. She smiled at him. "Jared, why don't you just keep Crookshanks with you for right now? He seems to like you a whole lot. And you must miss home in America for a bit. How were your relatives?"

"They were all right, but you're right. I did miss my parents," answered Jared.

Everyone else was gathering back at the dorms and soon dinner rolled around. He went to dinner with them and hoped that Malfoy and his cronies wouldn't say anything about Jared being there. He had to make sure that they wouldn't say that he was there for Christmas. He sat next to Ron who was next to Hermione. He kept to himself and was withdrawn.

It wasn't until everyone else had gone to bed that Jared was able to talk to Ron and Harry about the case file. When everyone else was fast asleep, Jared took the envelope and started down the stairs with Ron and Harry following behind him. When they got to the table, he merely dropped the envelope and let it slide to them.

Ron was the first one to open it and it was in order. Jared didn't say much as they read through it. Harry looked at some of the pictures and nearly reeled back from them. "You do learn how to take really good notes, Ron," he pointed out.

"A good thing, too," said Ron as he read the file closely. "God, there isn't a word to really describe Magus other than disgusting."

"Jared," said Harry softly. He looked at Jared who was sitting absolutely still. "Are you sure you're all right? I mean being alone here must have done something to you."

"I had time to think of a few things," he said softly. Harry glanced at Ron. Jared continued, "Like how you all lied to me for three years about what really happened to me. All of you, even you, Harry. You even got my best friends to lie to me. To keep this from me." He got up. "I'm going to bed. Do whatever you what."

"Jared," said Ron as he got up. "Don't go like this."

"I'm really tired, Dad," retorted Jared. "I have to get some rest."

Ron was about to go after him when Harry placed the picture of Jared on the table in his viewing. Ron froze when he saw it. He reached out and touched it. "He looks dead in this, Harry," he said. "I can't let anything happen to him. Not even here." He pulled out Hermione's diary and took out the picture that he had been looking at from time to time ever since he got the diary back. Ron put the picture of baby Jared with his mother next to the picture of a nearly dead Jared.

"I know what he's going through," said Harry. "I know what it's like to have secrets kept from me. Things that are important to my life aren't just told to me, but I can see why it's sometimes it's for the best."

Ron flipped to that part of the case file. He noticed that it was handwritten and that as it went along, he must have gotten tired, but he had done it all in one seating. Ron could picture himself sitting next to his son's bed, writing this report for the case file, watching every breath. Ron read in greater detail how the treatment for the poison was done. The whole thing sounded very clinical, professional to start with but eventually dwelled down to a very personal account.

The next part of the case file was an arrest report given by himself. Ron read how he had done it. He had gone toe-to-toe with Magus, knowing that he if he had been stabbed or cut, he would have died. It didn't matter. He had do whatever it took to keep his son safe. The arrest date indicated that it was a day before Jared had regained consciousness. To be frank, Ron would have never believed that he had the courage to do something like that, but seeing Jared made him believe it.

"There you have it," said Harry. "You didn't kill him though."

"And I don't intend to," said Ron firmly. "He killed lots of people. If I kill him, then I'm not any better. You had the right idea before Harry about not letting Sirius and Remus kill Wormtail. I wouldn't give him that satisfaction. Let's go to sleep."

"Sure," agreed Harry.

When they had gotten to the room, Jared had already drawn his curtains. Ron went up to the window and not to his surprise; he saw that the raven was perched on a tree branch, watching them. He looked straight at it for a while before it flew away. Ron went to bed without drawing the window curtains closed, leaving the room bathed in moonlight.

Classes resumed the following morning, so everyone was up ready early. All the assignments were turned in and everything seemed to settle for the moment. Jared was still rather sore at Ron and Harry, which Ron couldn't quite understand. Ron chalked it up to Jared taking after his mother, not knowing that Jared's ability to hold a grudge came from him.

Hermione was actually quite concerned about Jared's behavior towards her best friends. Although, Jared was still perfectly nice and sweet to her, which was a mystery to her. Ron and Harry were still trying to get him to talk to them, but he had refused how he was managing to keep it up was really a marvel to Hermione. She did observe from time to time during the first week back that Jared had gone to see Madame Pomfrey.

When Jared didn't show up for a DA meeting, Hermione voiced her concerns to Harry and Ron, "I saw Jared coming out of the infirmary today. Is it me or is he getting worse?"

"He was coming out of the infirmary?" asked Ron as he glanced at her.

Hermione nodded, "Do you want me to find out what's going on with him since he's obviously mad at the both of you for something that I don't know about?"

"Yeah," agreed Ron reluctantly. It was Jared's idea in the first place not to tell her who he really was, so Ron was sure that Jared would keep his identity a secret. Ron also wanted to know why Jared was looking so ill. "Just be careful, all right?"

"Be careful about what?" asked Hermione. "Jared wouldn't hurt me. Even you should know that by now. And I don't think he's interested in me."

"I know that," said Ron, understanding her meaning. "I just don't want you upsetting him anymore than he is already."

"Now who's fault is it that he's upset?" retorted Hermione.

Harry chose not to say anything. To him, this was an argument between parents. Come to think of it, Jared had gone out of his way earlier to cause Ron a lot of agitation. Harry just listened to him and wondered if his parents would have been having any discussions like this one. Harry shifted uncomfortably as Hermione awaited Ron's answer who was sort of looking a way from her. "Does it really matter who's fault it is?" asked Harry, breaking the silence. "Maybe, he's not mad at all. He might be acting this way because he doesn't feel well. He's not going to tell Ron and me because he doesn't feel like it. He might tell you, Hermione, depending on how you ask."

"Where is Jared?" asked Ron, noticing that he wasn't there. He looked at his sister expectantly, but she was in the middle of reviewing her textbook. "Ginny," he prodded. "Where is Jared?"

"Jared?" she asked, barely looking up. "Oh. I haven't seen him in here."

"He might have gone to Madame Pomfrey again," said Hermione as she got to her feet. "I'll go and get him. You two wait here." She didn't allow them to say anything and the common room was too crowed for either of them to talk to each other about the situation.

Hermione had a bad feeling about the whole thing. She didn't know exactly why she was so concerned about Jared's well being, but he looked so sick that she had to do something. He was definitely hiding something more than he normally was. There was always an air of mystery surrounding him. She made her way to the infirmary and stopped at the doorway as she heard Jared talking with Madame Pomfrey.

"It's just getting worse," said Madame Pomfrey. "You may have to stay here if you feel any worse. I wish you would explain to me why you're so ill. I'm looking at your blood test, and it seems that the problem is in your blood."

Jared said, "I know. I don't want to stay here. I've had my fill of hospitals, Madame Pomfrey. I spent weeks at St. Mungo's before." He sounded frustrated as if he had had the same conversation with the nurse before.

"You should have brought the potion you were taking with you or at least the formula for it. I might have been able to make it here," chided Madame Pomfrey.

"I never had a relapse before. I thought I didn't need it," he said. He then said impatiently, "Can I go now?"

"Sure, but come back. Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape may have something for you. The Headmaster is a renowned alchemist. He might come up with something yet," answered Madame Pomfrey. "Now, if you feel any worse, just come back here and stay over night again."

"Thank you, Madame Pomfrey."

Hermione's mind was reeling at what she had heard. She quickly dashed far enough down the hall so that he wouldn't noticed. She saw that he wasn't walking back down towards the tower. Instead, Jared walked purposefully towards the exit of the class. Classes were done for the day, but he was headed outside. She went right after him, knowing full well where he was headed.

It was still cold out and the snow threatened to fall again. Yet, Jared pressed on until he made it to the tree. "Jared," called out Hermione. "Jared!"

He turned around and seemed startled. "Hermione, what are you doing out here?" he asked.

"You're not all right, are you? I went to go find you," she answered. She felt guilt about listening in on a private conversation. "I heard you talking to Madame Pomfrey, but there's something I don't understand. Okay, there are a lot of things I don't understand. First off, why did you just tell Madame Pomfrey that you were in St. Mungo's before when this is the first time you've ever been here? Have you been lying to everyone the whole time?" Her eyes were penetrating. Only she could make him feel guilty like this.

He felt weak as he leaned against the tree for support. "I can't explain it all to you." He was breathing hard. He looked at the lake and felt the air chill him to the bone. "But you're not wrong about it not being any of your business because it is. Partly."

"Jared, just tell me what's happening to you? You look so sick," pleaded Hermione gently. "Just tell me what's wrong."

Jared felt his neck tingling. "It hurts," he moaned. "It's burning." He was heaving. Hermione reached out her hand and lifted his chin up slightly. She could see the scar along his neck, but it wasn't a scar any longer. It was now red and it looked like it blood was going to break through. His eyes were nearly closed. His body felt heavy.

Hermione pulled her hand back and that was when she saw the blood on her fingertips. "Oh my God," she whispered. "We have to get you back to the infirmary."

"Mum," whispered Jared. He opened his eyes for a moment. He saw the Raven diving down. "Mum! Look out!" he shouted in horror. Hermione turned around and saw a man standing in front of them. She instinctively threw herself between the man and Jared.

"Foolish boy," whispered the man. "You came back in a time where your father is incapable of defending you."

"Stay away from him!" shouted Hermione as she drew her wand. "I won't let you hurt him!"

The man walked up to her. "You are exactly who I want right now." He pointed his wand at her. "Come with me now and nothing will happen to him."

"Hermione, no! Don't do it," gasped Jared.

Hermione glanced back at him. "Don't worry. Everything is going to be all right." She paused. "I understand now." She turned her attention back to the man. "You gave me your word that you won't hurt him." She walked up to him as she ran her fingers through one part of her hair, letting something drop to the ground.

Jared was getting weaker and weaker. "No, don't go," he whimpered as everything went dark.

Ron and Harry were working on their assignments and had lost track of time. It wasn't until they came across a question they couldn't answer that they realized how long Hermione was gone. "Harry, do you have the answer to question eleven?"

"No, don't you?"

They looked at each other, and then Ron reached for Hermione's assignment. She had been ahead off them, but she had stopped at number ten. "Hermione's been gone for a while now," pointed out Harry. Ron was already on his feet. "Yeah, let's go and look for them, Ron."

Ron was already out the door as Harry followed closely behind them. "I should have gone with her," he said as he took fast strides towards the infirmary. "Something's happened."

"You don't know that," insisted Harry. "I'm sure they're all right."

When they got to the infirmary, the found Madame Pomfrey doing some paperwork at her desk. She looked up at them as the walked in. "What seems to be the trouble?" she asked.

"Where's Hermione and Jared?" asked Ron.

"I haven't see Miss Granger all day, but I just had a consolation with Mr. Blake," answered Madame Pomfrey. "He left ten minutes ago."

"Did you see which way he went?" asked Ron.

Madame Pomfrey shook her head, "No, I'm afraid not, Mr. Weasley."

Ron didn't say anything as he dashed out of the infirmary. Harry said very quickly, "Thank you, Madame Pomfrey. Ron! Wait up!"

Ron didn't know where he was going. He felt panicked as he looked around. "Ron! Hang on a second," said Harry forcefully. "I've got the map. Let's go someplace where no one can see us, so we can find out exactly where they are." Ron nodded and followed Harry into a more private part of the hall. Ron looked around to make sure that no one was listening to them. Harry pointed his wand at the map and said, "I am serious up to no good."

The map immediately began to show and they looked at it. "They're not in the castle. They're no where in the castle," said Ron. "Where the bloody Hell are they?"

Harry looked at the map. "They're outside. Jared's out by the tree by the lake. Wait…I can't tell where Hermione is."

"Let's go and get Jared. He might know where she's gone," said Ron. He immediately started for outside as Harry said, "Mischief managed." He folded up the map and followed Ron out of the castle. Ron started running full tilt as soon as they were outside. Harry could only run after him.

Ron stopped cold as he saw Jared lying face up in the snow. There was some blood as Ron walked up slowly and got down to him. "What happened?" he whispered. He saw something lying on the snow. It was one of the combs that Ron had given Hermione for Christmas and there were some errant black feathers. He picked up one of them and the comb. Harry stood still, holding his breath as Ron reached his hand out and check Jared's pulse. "He's alive." He sounded somewhat relieved. "Harry, help me get him up."

Harry nodded and came on the other side to help support Jared. "He took her," managed Jared. "She's gone. Time is going to really run out now."

Ron stopped and said, "We'll find her in time." He tried to sound sure of himself. He and Harry had to get Jared to the infirmary.

"You don't get it," whispered Jared. He didn't look up at Ron, but something else. "My hand's fading."

Harry looked at Ron. "He's getting lighter," he observed. "The blood stains that was on your clothes are gone. He's right. Something's happening to Hermione."

Ron shifted all of Jared's weight over to Harry. "Harry, get Jared into the infirmary. Give me the map. I have to go and find her. You stay with him. Go! Now!"

Ron didn't give Harry much of a choice because he was already leaving before he had a chance to say anything. Harry felt the weight of Jared against his shoulder. He could feel it changing from lighter to heavy. He could feel the life fading from him. Harry used all the strength he had to keep going back into the castle.

Time was now really running out.

* * *

AN: By the time Jared is attacked, Professor Dumbledore would be dead. Jared's in real trouble and so is Hermione. Ron is about to go into a fight that he's not prepared for. He's going into this with two lives to fight for other than his. This marks it towards the climax and the story is ending soon.

Kirikarin . livejournal . com (take out the spaces)

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.


	28. Confrontation

Temporal Flux

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Confrontation

Ron had no idea where he was going. The map was having difficult tracing Hermione, which rendered it almost useless. He had only a feather and a comb to go by as clues. He was going to have to find Hermione soon or she and Jared would be gone. He kept going until he was at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. It was the first time that he had ever even considered entering it alone. He noticed the trail seemed to end at the edge. He realized that he was walking straight into a trap.

Squaring his shoulders, he looked around him. He decided that it was best to announce his arrival. "I'm here!" shouted Ron as loud as he could. "COME AND SHOW YOURSELF! IF YOU WANT ME COME AND GET ME!"

The raven swooped from a tree and Magus transformed as he came down. He landed perfectly on his feet. Ron forced himself to stand his ground. He didn't even have his wand drawn yet. "Where is she?" demanded Ron. "Where did you put her?"

"By now, you would have noticed your whelp fading away, Weasley. I've been waiting for you to come."

Ron looked at him. He had white hair that hung down to his back. He had clear, colorless eyes. His skin was as pale as the snow surrounding them. "I know what you are and what you did," said Ron. "And I don't have any time nor the tolerance to deal with you. You want to hurt me? Why didn't you just come right after me?"

"I take greater pleasure in watching you suffer than hurting you directly, Weasley," said Magus. "You ruined my life."

"I'll ruin your life," Ron boldly corrected. "You couldn't stop me in the future that's why you had to come back here when you think I don't have any skill at all."

"You are nothing. I couldn't understand how a no one like you could have stopped me."

Ron drew his wand. "That's because I'm more than that. I am going to ask you only one more time: where is Hermione?"

"She's around," answered Magus as he drew his wand. "I doubt you know how to use that wand as well as you do later on."

"You'd be surprise at what I can do," retorted Ron. "_Expelliarmus!_"

Harry wouldn't allow them to throw him out of the infirmary as soon as he dropped Jared off there. He insisted on staying as Madame Pomfrey went to work. The only thing she could do to get rid of him was to send him off to go and get Professor Dumbledore. Harry stood there just looking at what they were doing. Professor Snape joined them as Professor De Luca started to question Harry about what had happened.

Harry wasn't giving any good answers because he was watching as Professor Snape and the Headmaster were assisting Madame Pomfrey. She had managed to stop the bleeding, but they were now administering something else. It looked they were going to have Jared's blood taken and cleaned out like what had been done to him before. They were having so much difficult because Jared was fading in and out.

"Ron's out there," Professor De Luca. "Which way did he go, Harry?"

"He went towards the forest," said Harry, nearly sounding frantic. "I didn't exactly which way he went, but I had to bring Jared here. Hermione's in trouble. Can't you see that! How can you stand here and ask questions? His parents are in trouble you have to get out there and help Ron. I promised Ron that I wouldn't leave Jared. I can't leave him." Harry glanced over at Jared for a moment as he thought about what he had to do. The thought of losing his friends was overwhelming. He had to do something. Anything to keep them alive. "It hasn't snowed yet, there should still be some tracks."

Professor De Luca nodded. He glanced at Professor Snape who was freed up for a moment. "Severus. Come with me. Harry, you stay here."

"I'm not going anywhere," said Harry firmly.

Professor Snape looked to Professor Dumbledore for a moment who gave a nod, "Go Severus. You've already done you work on the potion. I will remain here. Harry, you can help me. Come on, hold Jared down once the blood has been cleaned enough. The treatment I've devised will be very painful. You'll need to hold him down."

Harry nodded and walked up to the bed. He touched Jared's hand and felt how cold it was. Professor Dumbledore gave him enough room to get up close enough. "It's going to be all right, Jared. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere, but you've got to stay with me, too. Don't leave," he whispered. "You've made it this far. You've got to keep fighting."

Ron wasn't able to get the wand away from Magus who was threw a spell at him. Ron was able to block it. He pulled back away from him. "I wasn't foolish enough to keep any daggers with poison lying around, Weasley. No, I have learned from my mistakes."

"Obviously, you haven't learned enough," retorted Ron, "_Flipedo!_" He was going to have to come up with something. He thought back to all the lessons that year with Professor De Luca and all the DA meetings. He remembered how Harry told him some of the things he was learning from Professor Snape. After finding out that someone was after him, Ron started pouring over the books that Harry. He had to come up with a plan and he had to do it fast.

The spell had succeeded in knocking Magus off his feet by flipping him over. Magus got back on his feet, he was bleeding from the mouth. "You are right about one thing, Weasley! The longer it takes to fight me the less you have a chance of saving her! And if I'm dead, then there's no way you'll find her in time!"

"You will tell me where she is, or so help me I will do what I have to get what I want," snarled Ron. "I won't let you kill her and Jared. You're not taking my family away from me!" He flicked his wand and arrows spewed out of it nearly, hitting Magus. "You are a coward. You're trying to kill off the Muggles because you are one. That's the worst part of it. You hate yourself so much that you want to destroy everything. I won't let you win! Let's see if you can cast any spells without a voice."

To Magus' surprise, Ron came up to him faster than he could have imagined. Up till this point, Ron was pulling back defensively. "_Silencio!_" shouted Ron, using a jabbing motion with his wand. Magus pulled back, he opened his mouth to speak and grabbed at his throat. "I don't need you to have a voice to tell me where Hermione is." He gripped the wrist of Magus, causing him to drop his wand. As soon as Magus had dropped his wand, Ron grabbed him by the throat, making his eyes practically pop out of their sockets. Ron whispered with his wand pointed at Magus' chest, "_Legilimens."_

Just as Ron had expected, Magus wasn't expecting that from him. Ron braced himself for what was going to happen. He had never done that to anyone before and never really had a chance to practice it. He had to get past all the horrible and disturbing images that were in embedded in the mind of a murder. Ron felt it overwhelming him until he got to a point where he had to get what he wanted.

_"Where are you taking me?" asked Hermione. "What is it that you want? What about Jared?"_

_"This isn't about you or your whelp," spat Magus. "This is about his father. You are just bait to draw him out. When I am done with him, he'll have nothing left. Then, I'll kill him."_

_Hermione was afraid as she continued walking. Then as they got to the edge of the forest, she broke off running. She wasn't going to get very far. Magus transformed into his Animagus form and took flight above her. He landed right in front of her. She screamed and pulled out her wand. "Stay away from me!" she shouted. _

_"It's over now. You will comply," said Magus as he pointed his wand at her chest. "_Imperio._" Hermione struggled to fight it, but Magus used his wand and said more forcefully, "_Imperio._ You see I'm not concerned about Azkaban because I already have a life sentence there. Thanks to him. He didn't even have the courtesy of killing me. And I thought he was the only one worthy of the game. What a disappointment. He's an embarrassment to his pureblood class, marrying out, and bring forth an abomination. I will purge the world of such weakness. Come."_

_Magus led Hermione along towards the lake. He put the bubble head charm on her head and used his wand to cut a hole in the ice. "Jump in," he whispered into her ear. Hermione's body moved slowly and she walked right into the hole and sunk under. "If the charm doesn't break, you'll freeze to death in the water, but if it does, then you'll drown. Either way, I get what I want." He used his wand to seal up the ice._

Ron released Magus from his grip. "I won't give you the satisfaction of killing you, but I won't let you ever hurt anyone again," he said. "All you'll have is time." With that Ron, pulled at the chain that was around Magus' neck and got the Time Turner. "I'll see to that." He let it drop to the ground and crushed it under his feet.

He heard the sound of foot steps coming up to him. He turned around and let go of Magus completely. He saw Professor Snape and Professor De Luca coming up to him. "You can have him," said Ron. "I need to go to Hermione."

Ron took off running as fast as he could. He had to get back to the lake. Worst yet, it was starting to snow. He wouldn't be able to see the trail much longer. He kept going until he reached the lake. The more shallow parts were completely froze over. Ron had to figure out where Hermione was under the ice. "Hermione!" shouted Ron at the top of his lungs. "HERMIONE! Come on, show me where you are!"

A thought came to him, he pulled out the comb that was still in his pocket. He didn't mention it, but he had bought the combs in Diagon Alley. The salesperson told him that the comb would light up to find its pair if they were separated. It wasn't glowing before, but Ron covered it with his hand, which was getting colder and colder. "Come on, show me where your partner is," he whispered. "Come on." There was still light out. It was too bright to see anything. Ron put his wand away for the moment and covered his other hand, so that he could see. It was glowing now. Ron looked around, searching for a light blue glow. He walked along the edge and looked as hard as he could.

Then, he suddenly saw it. There was a faint blue light not too far from him. He went up to the ice and drew his wand. He used a spell to blast through the ice. Ron pulled off his out of cloak and jumped into the water. "_Lumos._" He lit his wand before he went under the water so that he could find her faster. He dove under the water, immediately feeling the cold. He swam as deep as he could looking all round.

He saw the blue light. He saw that she was tangled among the weeds. The bubble head charm was still in place, but he knew that she must have been nearly frozen. Ron swam up to her and tried to pull her from the weeds, but he couldn't get her loose. He saw the bubble head charm flicker out. Bubbles were escaping from her lips. His eyes widened and he pressed his mouth against hers and forced air through. He swam back up and took a deep breath. He swam back down and pressed his lips against hers again, then went back up. He used his wand to make a bubble head for himself before going back down a third time.

Ron went down to Hermione's legs, seeing that it was her cloak that was caught on the weeds. He went back up to her neck and freed her from her cloak. He pulled her close and swam upwards. When he got to the top, he burst through and took off the bubble head charm. She wasn't breathing. He carried her out of the water completely. "Hermione?" he said, as he checked her pulse. He pointed his wand at her and said, "_Ennervate!" _The spell didn't work.****She wasn't breathing. "Come on, breathe. Come on," he pleaded. He grabbed his cloaked and wrapped around her ice cold body.

Professor De Luca was headed towards them. He had Snape bring Magus back to the castle. "Ron! You found her!" shouted De Luca. "Is she alive?"

"Her pulse is slowly. She's not breathing. I gave her some air while we were under the water," answered Ron anxiously. "Do something!"

"You need to keep breathing for her. I'll do the chest compressions," instructed Professor De Luca. "Professor Snape has gone back to the castle. He should be alerting someone to come and help us." He adjusted Hermione's body and further instructed, "You will give her three breaths and I will do the compressions. We'll alternate until she either regains consciousness or we get some help."

Ron nodded and they started. They went on for three tries until Hermione started to respond. She started cough and Ron pulled away from her. "Ron?" she asked. "What's going on?"

"It's all right. You're all right," answered Ron as held on to her. "We're going back to the castle now."

"What happened to the man? What about Jared?" asked Hermione.

"He won't hurt you anymore," answered Ron. "Jared's going to be fine." He picked her up and suddenly felt cold, but his cloak was around her instead.

Professor De Luca urged, "Let's go back before we get completely covered in snow." Ron nodded as Hermione closed her eyes again. Professor De Luca led them back to the castle as Ron kept Hermione steady. When they got to the castle, the other students were getting ready to go down to dinner. Ginny's eyes widened as she saw her brother, carrying Hermione.

"What happened?" asked Ginny.

"We have to go to the infirmary," answered Ron. "I'll tell you later."

"Did you find Jared?" asked Ginny after him as she started to follow him to the infirmary. "Oh my God, what's going on?"

Madame Pomfrey looked at Ron as he stared at what was going on with Jared. Harry was holding down his shoulders as his body shook. Professor Dumbledore was pouring some more potion down Jared's throat. "Set her down on a bed over there," ordered Madame Pomfrey. Ron hesitated for a moment, but did as he was done.

"What's going on with Jared? What are you doing to him?" demanded Ron.

"Mr. Weasley, you're soaking wet. Come here," insisted Madame Pomfrey. She took a blanket out and wrapped it around him. Ron struggled against her. "I'll get some potions for both you. You lay down."

"I don't need to lay down," said Ron defiantly. He asked again, "What are you doing to him?"

"Saving his life," answered Professor Dumbledore. "I have figured out what will cure him. He didn't tell you that he had a relapse of the blood poisoning, did he? He wasn't taking the potion that he was supposed to be taking regularly in order to keep this from happening. He didn't even have a sample of it."

Ron's eyes widened as he jaw dropped. He felt Ginny tugging at his arm. "Ron. You need to get some rest. You can tell us what happened later. Please." He let Ginny guide him to a bed next to Hermione. Madame Pomfrey came and gave him some Pepperup Potion along with Hermione who went right back to sleep. Professor Dumbledore drew the curtains close to keep Ron from watching.

Ginny stayed by her brother's side as they waited. "I guess you found him."

"And he dealt with him, too," said Professor Snape. "Mr. Weasley, have you ever done that before? Have you ever used Legilimency before tonight?"

"No," answered Ron as he glanced at Hermione. "Can we talk about this someplace else?"

"Ron, are you sure you can get around right now?" asked Ginny. "You should change your clothes."

"Yes," said Ron as he got off the bed. "I'll change my clothes and meet you at your classroom, Professor Snape. Ginny, stay here and if anything happens, come and get me." She chose not to argue with him and just nodded.

Ron went all the way back to the dorms and changed clothes. Ignoring all the strange looks at him. He went straight back to the dungeons and saw that not only Professor Snape was waiting for him, but so was Professor De Luca and Professor Dumbledore. "Where did you put him?" asked Ron. "Where'd you put Magus?"

"We put him in one of the towers, but I doubt he will be able to do anything," replied Professor Snape. "Now, will you answer my question, Mr. Weasley?"

Ron nodded and looked away from him for a moment. "I never did it until tonight," he answered. "I never even had a chance to practice it. I just had to do it."

"Do you have any idea how difficult it is to do that type of spell?" asked Professor De Luca. "Especially at your age and skill level without any practice of any kind?"

"Did you take off the silencing charm I put on him?" asked Ron. "Did you?

"I did, but it won't do him any good to speak. When you went into his mind, you stayed for too long. When you do this type of magic, you only gather what you can see and what you can correctly interpret. What you did, was so deep that you scrambled him from the inside," explained Professor Snape.

Ron swallowed. "I didn't know that."

"The thing is that one never knows how long a person will stay like that," said Professor Dumbledore. "You took his Time Turner, didn't you?"

"I destroyed it. He's stuck," replied Ron coldly. "He didn't give me much of a choice. He wanted me to kill him and I didn't want to do that. What will become of him now?"

"We will find a place to put him," said Professor Dumbledore. "He will most likely be placed in St. Mungo's in the ward for mental illness, but as Professor Snape pointed out, he could come out of it at any moment."

"Then, we'll have to come up with something more permanent," said Professor De Luca. "We'll have to do a mind wipe."

Professor Snape nodded in agreement. The Headmaster looked at Ron and said, "You may go now."

"Thank you," said Ron and he exited the room. As soon as he was gone, Professor Dumbledore turned his attention back to his fellow teachers. He observed, "It seems that Ron Weasley will be a very powerful Auror when he comes of age." They nodded and soon left.

* * *

AN: Harry chooses to stay with Jared. It is something that links up to how his relationship with his own godfather was like. Ron has come through, but Jared's survival is yet to be determined. But the story is almost done. Ron was rather severe with what he did to Magus and even if Ron doesn't get the satisfaction of Magus remembering what he has done, at least he'll be gone.

Kirikarin . livejournal . com (take out the spaces)

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.


	29. At The Beginning

Temporal Flux

Chapter Twenty-Nine: At The Beginning

Hermione regained coconsciousness the following morning and woke up to see that Ron and Harry were waiting for her. "Where am I?" she asked as she tried to sit up. "What happened?"

"You're in the infirmary," answered Ron gently. "It's been almost twelve hours since everything's happened. You want to know what's been going on or did you figure it out yourself?"

Harry gave Hermione a gentle smile, not giving her a chance to answer. "You gave us quite a scare, Hermione. We were wondering if you were ever going to wake up. And before you ask, Jared's fine. He's stable," he said.

Ginny interrupted them, "Ron, Mum and Dad are here, and so are Bill, Charlie, Fred, and George."

"What?" asked Ron as he turned. "Why? I don't believe this. I already handled it and didn't come out of it with a scratch and still they all come at once. What's up with this?" He got up and left as Harry took the chair he had just occupied to get closer to He, not giving her a chance to answerrmione.

"I know that you said Jared was fine, but where is he?" asked Hermione.

"He's still resting," answered Harry. "He's quite a fighter, but you know probably already knew that."

Hermione smiled a little. "Did I mention that I haven't eaten in hours?" she asked. "Harry, would you mind getting me something to eat?"

"Sure," said Harry as he got to his feet. "I'll be right back. I know how to get to the kitchens." He walked by all the Weasleys and went out the door. Hermione couldn't hear what they were talking about, but Ron was getting some kind of lecture from his parents. She wanted to figure out what they were talking about, but her wand was out of her reach. So, she couldn't use it to listen in on their conversation. She didn't want to summon it to her.

"Ron, I'm so glad that you're all right," said Molly as she gave him a rib crushing hug. "When I heard something happened, I felt like my heart was going to stop. Don't you ever worry me like that again."

"Now, Molly, you know that he can't keep that promise to you," said Arthur. "He's going to be an Auror. I think you handled yourself pretty well, son." He sounded very proud of him, which was something that Ron wasn't used to.

"Thanks, Dad," said Ron as he felt his cheeks burn.

Molly asked, "What about Jared? How is he? Professor Dumbledore said that he was so sick."

"He's fine now. Professor Dumbledore did what the healers couldn't do before, which is come up with a cure for him. Why don't we go and check up on him?" asked Ron. "Hermione's awake, too, but she'll want to hear how he's doing."

"Does she know?" ventured Bill curiously. Charlie and the twins had the same questioning looks on their faces. Ginny was looking at Ron expectantly. "I mean did he tell her? Or did you tell her?"

"I didn't tell her anything. I don't know if she really knows or not. If she does, then this will be a first for her. Usually, she knows things before anyone else," answered Ron. "Let's go see, Jared and ask."

Hermione watched the Weasleys go towards corner where Jared was supposedly resting, but when Ron drew the curtain, the bed was empty. "Where'd he go?" asked Ron. "Madame Pomfrey! Where is Jared?"

"Where's Jared?" she asked as she walked up to the corner. "Why he's right here." She paused when she noticed that the bed was empty and was made. "He must have snuck off when he had the chance. I should have restrained him to the bed."

"He probably would have figured out how to get out," said Hermione loudly, calling attention to herself. "But I think I know where he's gone. If I tell you, Ron will you tell me what's been going on?"

Ron looked sheepish for a moment as he thought about it and nodded, "Sure, why not? So, where'd he go?"

"The tree by the lake," answered Hermione simply. "I would have thought that you would have known. It's his favorite spot in Hogwarts. If you don't find him on the ground, he's probably on one of the branches. The rest of you can go and look for him, while Ron stays and tells me what I want to know."

"Let's go," said Fred. "I know a shortcut."

"I'm coming along. Honestly, doesn't he know that he could break his neck if he falls off that tree? He's such a hand full," said Molly. "Arthur, why don't you talk to him?"

"What makes you think he's going to listen to me? He barely listens to Ron," answered Arthur.

"Let's all go and find him and leave these two alone," said Molly. Ginny reluctantly followed the rest of the family outside.

Madame Pomfrey sensed that she should make herself busy. "If you need me, I'll be in the storage closet, checking the inventory. We've gone through a lot of supplies in the past couple of days."

Ron turned his attention to Hermione completely as soon as Madame Pomfrey was out the door. He walked back up to her bed and took the seat he had previously. He was extremely nervous as she sat up a bit more. "So, what do you want to know?" he asked, trying to get this over with as soon as possible.

"Oh, nothing much," said Hermione musingly as she looked him straight in eye. She narrowed her brown eyes. "Like when were you going to tell me that Jared was our son?"

"Ah."

"Yeah, that's right. I got it. It was all in front of me all along and I noticed how much he was like us. I just didn't put it together because it didn't make any sense to me. Not until he called me Mum," went on Hermione. "So, were you really just going to go on and say nothing. You could have told me!" She grabbed his arm. "Well? What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I was going to tell you," said Ron as he laughed nervously. She glared at him. "I swear! He didn't want me to say anything."

"And you went along with it?" asked Hermione as she pulled the pillow from behind her. She started to hit Ron over the head with it. "You should have told me anyway! What was your problem? How could you keep this from me?"

Ron managed to wrestle the pillow away from her and pinned her arms down on the bed. "That hurt," he told her. "I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you freaking out. And after what you did, I was right."

"I'm only mad because you didn't tell me," said Hermione. "And what's more, you've been lying to me the whole time, and so has he. You're a bad influence on him, aren't you?"

"I'm glad that you're feeling a lot better," Ron said as he leaned in closer to her face. "I don't know what I'd do without you. You'll be giving me a lot."

"So, are you going to tell me anything else that's happened? I want to know everything from the point when you figured out who Jared really was."

"It's a long story," said Ron as he settled back. "You should get comfortable for this. Actually, Ginny was the first one to figure out who he was, then Harry, and then me…."

Jared already knew that the other Weasleys were arriving. He was pretty sure of it because he knew how the family worked. He saw them coming from the tree. He didn't do his normal climb up, but levitated upwards to his favorite branch. He was entirely surprise either when Molly glanced up at him with an exasperated expression. "Jared Ronald Weasley, come down here this instant before you fall off and break your neck!" she demanded.

"Hmm."

"Well?"

"I'm thinking about it."

"JARED! Do you want me to call your father out here?"

Molly was really mad at him now. Fred and George were snickering because they couldn't laugh out loud. Arthur shook his head, while Bill and Charlie worn huge grins on his faces. Jared looked around and saw that Ron and Harry weren't there. He sighed, rolled his eyes, and jumped down, landing on his feet. He winced because the impact was harder than he normally would have expected. "'ello everyone," he greeted. He asked Molly, "Who told you my whole name?"

"I guessed," said Molly. "Are you sure you're fine? You shouldn't be up in that tree like that. You could have gotten hurt."

"I'm fine. I'm made of hardy stock," insisted Jared. "I get enough lectures at home. I don't need them here."

"We're all glad to see that you're all right," said Arthur. "We don't know everything that happened, but from what Professor Dumbledore told us you were pretty close to the brink."

"He's a miracle worker," said Jared with a smile as he stretched out his arms. "I haven't felt this good in a while. He said that I won't have to worry about taking any more potions and that's a good thing. My dad won't have to worry so much when I play Quidditch at school."

"Since you're still here talking to us, Hermione hasn't killed Ron for not telling her anything," said Charlie with a laugh.

Ginny also said, "Your scar is still there. Professor Dumbledore said it's permanent, but you shouldn't be feeling anything else from it now. It's not just him, it was Professor Snape as well."

Jared nodded and shrugged. "He finds me obnoxiously smart in class, but I should thank him for his work on it. So, where are Ron and Harry?"

"Don't know where Harry went," said Fred.

George added, "Your dad had to stay with your mum. She was the one who told us where to find you and she'd only tell us if he stayed and explained what happened. But like Charlie said, you're still here, so she done anything too permanent to him yet."

"Why don't we get you back to bed?" asked Molly. "You really are like your father. You're just trouble waiting to happen."

"Hey, you won't have to worry as much as my parents do. That's the grand part of being a grandparent," pointed out Jared. "And you didn't have to bring everyone out here with you. I would have gone back."

"I just had to make sure," said Molly.

Arthur wrapped his arm around Molly's shoulders. "Let's go back inside. It's cold out here. I'm sure that your parents are almost done talking," he urged.

"Let's go back to the tower," said Jared. "I have to start packing what I came here to do is over now. I have to get back to my own time. My parents will probably be mad at me for not listening to them, but I think I'd rather come back and stop their worrying than making it any longer than it has to be."

"When do you plan on leaving?" asked Arthur. He sounded as disappointed as the others looked. It didn't occur to anyone that Jared would be leaving soon after they had just met him.

"I'll be leaving as soon as Hermione is out of the infirmary, but don't worry. You'll be seeing me again in no time, Granddad. I'll be a lot smaller though. And I won't be talking for two years after until that, but you'll love me just the same."

"Maybe, we should enjoy those two years before you start talking," teased Ginny. Jared glared at her. "Now, if you don't mind telling us about our futures, I would be even happier."

"You haven't been as nice to me as you should be, so I'm not telling you a thing," retorted Jared. "Besides, that would be telling. Wouldn't you like to be surprise? Here's a hint for the rest of you. I'm the fifth grandchild and an only child."

"You lucky boy," said Bill. His siblings all glared at him. He laughed. "No, what I meant to say what that he's got all the attention of his parents. Not that it's a good thing. Hey, I was the one out this group to be an only child. If not for just a little bit."

"I am never really lonely," said Jared. "My cousins keep me company, but it's nice having a set of grandparents I don't have to share with anyone else. God, my dad's probably going to kill me when I get back. Of course, my mum would never let him get away with it." They stopped at the Fat Lady. "Leaping Toadstools," he said and the portrait swung open with delay. They stepped inside and since it was the middle of the day there wasn't anyone else in there. "I'll just rest for now."

"Look," cajoled Fred as he sat next to Jared. "I understand if you don't want to tell Ginny anything because she hasn't been that nice to you and all. After all, she was the one who told us who you were. It was one of the funniest things I ever saw, but how about telling me and George about us?"

"My mum told me never to buy anything from your shops," said Jared. "Because of your pranks, I got three weeks detention with Professor Potter. Of course, you put warnings on there absolving yourselves of any responsibility. But who reads those things?"

"You said shops," pointed out George. "And Professor Potter? Harry becomes a professor."

"The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and Head of Gryffindor. He hardly lets me get away with anything. Where did Harry go?" asked Jared.

"I went to go get something for Hermione to eat, but dropped it off with her and Ron," answered Harry as he came down the stairs. "So, you decided all by yourself to check out of the infirmary?"

"Yes," said Jared. "It was boring and I hate hospitals and infirmaries."

"Your mum's a healer," pointed out Harry. He turned and greeted the Weasleys. "Hello everyone."

"I've been in and out of St. Mungo's and that infirmary for the past three years of my life. By the way, thanks Harry," said Jared. "I can always count on you."

Harry didn't express just how much Jared helped him deal with the most recent loss in his life. Perhaps, Harry had learned something from that after all. He was happy that he was able to help out even if he hadn't done the final moves. That was all Ron. For the first, Harry got to see what it was like from Ron's perspective and it wasn't a bad place to be. "So you'll be going soon," said Harry.

Jared nodded. "Everything is going to be all right."

Hermione listened as Ron explained everything from beginning to up to that moment. They were only interrupted when Harry came by with some food. He left to get out of the line of fire because Hermione looked rather mad at Ron. And Harry really didn't want to get yelled at by her either. Ron continued talking as Hermione ate some food.

"So, you could have given me better warning about someone coming after me," said Hermione as she finished eating. "You could have told me in the first place so I wouldn't have gone to that party in the second place. And now I know that you kissed me just to get me to go along with you."

"Actually, I would have kissed you anyway," said Ron with a grin. He wasn't blushing at all. "I guess we're going to have our hands full with Jared, won't we?"

"Definitely," agreed Hermione. "And I will remember this, Ron. You have a lot to do to make up for it, so don't think you're off the hook."

"I won't," groaned Ron. "Are we done here?" Hermione sat up more and leaned in and kissed him on the lips. He smiled at her again and said, "You know I could get used this. Do you think they found him?"

"Probably. They haven't been back yet, so I assume they have," answered Hermione. "I would like to talk to him later on. He was the one who gave me that last bit that I needed to figure out who he was."

"So, he called you Mum when Magus came?" asked Ron. "At least he decided on his own to tell you. You should get more rest. You can talk to him when you feel better."

"All right," agreed Hermione. Ron stood up and started to leave. She added, "Don't go too far, Ron."

"I would never be too far away from you," he told her softly as he walked out.

As soon as he was out the door, Hermione whispered to herself, "I love you, too."

Another day passed before Hermione was allowed to leave the infirmary. Madame Pomfrey was happy to report that Hermione had suffered no permanent damaged from her time in the water. She let her go with a clean bill of help and everyone was happy that she was back. There really wasn't any explanation given and the Weasleys had left before anyone had come out of class in the previous day. Jared stayed with Ginny and Harry while he waited for them to come.

"So, how are you feeling?" asked Jared. "You should be fine." Hermione gave him a hug. "I'm fine."

"I'm glad. I'm so relieved," said Hermione. "So, when are you going?"

"Very soon."

Neville interrupted them, "You're leaving Jared?"

Jared nodded as the other people in the common room turned to look. "Yes, I'll be going soon. The semester's up. I have to go home. My parents are waiting for me."

As if on cue, Professor McGonagall walked in. "It's time for you to get going now, Jared."

"Will you guys walk me out?" asked Jared turning to Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny. They nodded. Ron and Harry followed him upstairs and helped him with his trunk. He had carefully packed everything up. Hermione knew that he had her completed diary, but wasn't too upset about it. Jared had the Time Turner on him, but he had one more trick up his sleeve.

The three boys went down the stairs and the girls joined them. Professor McGonagall led them to where they had to go. Professor McGonagall stopped when they got to the Quidditch pitch. "This is a good a place as any. Thank you, Professor."

"You're welcome, Mr. Weasley," said Professor McGonagall before taking leave of them.

Jared turned his attention to them and sighed. "This isn't really good bye," he told them. "You'll be seeing me again." He smiled at them. "It might be too soon for you probably."

The first person who gave him a hug was Ginny. "You're probably right about me waiting to see what comes. After all, it's half the fun," she admitted. "You take care of yourself." She released him.

Harry gave him a hug as well. "Uncle Harry, don't despair. Things will work out. Time will come when you won't have to worry about staying alive."

"Having you here gave me that perspective, so I am thankful that you came," said Harry.

Ron was the next person that Jared turned his attention to. Ron gave embraced him and held him longer than either Harry or Ginny. He reluctantly released him. "So, you're what I have to look forward to?" asked Ron. "I guess it's not as bad as I think it will be."

"Don't worry too much about not having any money, Dad," said Jared. "I got everything I need. And you do good work and it's your job to keep people like Magus from spreading his hate. It took me a while to understand that."

Hermione was the last person he turned his attention to. She never got a chance to talk to him like she had hoped. She bit her lip as he hugged her. She took a deep breath as she hugged him back. He was near enough to her that she was able to give him a kiss on the cheek. "I can't wait for the day that I get to really met you. I guess we'll just get more time together later on," she told him.

"Before I go, I wanted to show you this," said Jared as he pulled out the picture. "That's me and you. Ron took the picture." Hermione took it in her hand and stared at it. He bit his lip when she didn't say anything for a while. She pressed her fingers to her lips and smiled. "So, what do you think?"

"You're beautiful," whispered Hermione. "Look, Ron." She showed him the picture. He grinned. "Where did you get this?"

"He put it in the diary. It's usually on his desk at work," answered Jared. He looked at Ron. "You keep four pictures on your desk. You change my picture very year, but your wedding picture, a family portrait that was taken in Egypt, and this one on there."

Hermione handed it back to him. "I wish I could keep it, but you said you needed to take everything back."

"This really is it. I think that everything happened here for a reason, but don't worry about getting into trouble with the Ministry" said Jared as he pulled out the Time Turner. "I was very careful about casting this spell. As soon as I'm gone, it will be like none of this ever happened. See you soon."

"What?" asked Ron, utterly confused.

It was too late for Jared to answer any more questions as he adjusted the Time Turner. Everything began to swirl and change around them and things were slipping backwards and forwards all at once. There were bright lights and then everything was still.

Hermione was walking along King's Cross Station with her trunk in hand. She looked around for anyone she knew. When she immediately saw the back of Ron's hair and ran, dragging her trunk to catch up with him. She was worried because she hadn't heard from Harry the whole summer. "Ron!" she called out.

He turned to look at her and gave her a big smile. She didn't know why his smile made her heart beat faster. She ran until she caught up with him. When she got to him, she noticed that he was already wearing his Prefect pin, but it was flip upside down. Ginny was standing next to him. "Hermione! It's great to see you again," she told her.

"It hasn't been that long, Ginny," pointed out Hermione. Not that long at all. "Hello, Ron."

"Hello, Hermione."

Hermione started talking about Harry, "I wonder if Harry's all right." She gave a worried look to Ron and Ginny. "He hasn't written all summer." She stared at Ron for a moment. He noticed that she was staring at something, so he followed her gaze and saw that his pin was flipped. He tried to adjust it, but it wouldn't stay. So he had to take it and put it in his pocket.

Ginny told Hermione, "Professor Dumbledore said that he was fine. I mean that he was staying at his aunt's house. Harry's blaming himself for what happened to Sirius."

Ron and Hermione didn't say anything for a while as they stared at each other. Something about this was very familiar to them as if they had done it before. A wave of déjà vu came over them both at the same time. Ginny looked at both of them. "What's wrong with you two?"

"Nothing," said Ron immediately. "Just it feels like—"

"—we've done this before," finished Hermione for him.

Ginny shook her head. "You two are just imagining things. We all just got here. Let's go find Harry." She went off ahead of them.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other for a moment before they started towards the train. Ron's brothers had taken his trunk and Pig in his cage to the train for him, while he and Ginny went looking for Hermione. She still had one hand on her trunk and dragged it behind her as they continued walking onward. Neither of them realized that by the time they had gotten to the train, they were holding hands. A sure indication of things to come. They reluctantly let go of each other's hand as they got on the Hogwarts Express.

* * *

AN: I wanted to end the story in such a way that the next two books won't affect my story so much. This ends Temporal Flux, but I have another story already completed from here. I always meant for Jared to go back into future in such a way that it wouldn't affect the past. Anyway, thank you for all the reviews and kind words. The next story is actually linked up to this one, and it's about Percy's fate while Temporal Flux is happening. It is a darker piece and was written concurrently with this one. It will premiere soon. For right now, take a look at the preview:

Tap. Tap. Tap. _The sound of incessant noise filled his ears. Clamping his hands against his ears, he started to bang his head against one of the walls. Luck for him, it was soft and insulated with rubber. His bare foot kicked against it as he tried to make the noise stop. It almost sounded like drops of water falling in a metal sink. _

_In his more lucid moments, he could process what was happening to him. It was the only time when he didn't feel like he was crawling out of his skin and the noise was at a bearable level. The lights would dim and he was able to see better, even if it was still a bit blurry. It was his own personal hell, not knowing where he was and why he was there. Sadly, it was of his making._

_It was them. They were saying that he was crazy. He spoke of things that they claimed was impossible. He told them about how a world, no a society, separate from theirs. A world where magic existed outside of fairy tales, but in many ways wasn't too different from theirs. Men were wizards and women were witches. Pictures moved rather than capture a singular moment in time. Electricity was unusable, leaving all the modern marvels of their world lost to that society. It was the makings of a fantasy novel._

_"Make it stop," he muttered to himself. "Make it stop." His voice was hoarse, if he wasn't talking in whispers he was yelling at the top of his lungs. It was then that he heard the sound of footsteps. They were deliberate without pausing. It came in fours. First for the toes, then the heels. Repeated again for the other foot. A woman was coming. He could tell from the sound. He stopped muttering to himself when he heard the sound of the little window on his door slid open. "What do you want?" he demanded in a loud voice. "What do you want from me!"_

For more, look for Deconstruction to start soon.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. This story belongs to me and cannot be posted anywhere else without my permission.


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